The Lone Wolf Pack and King of Hearts
by MavGunloc
Summary: *!!Complete!!* The story of Team Fatal Fury and Team Kyokugen with alternate plot lines and twists. Takes place after the events of KOF '99 and through KOF '00. The end is here. Don't miss it! R & R Appreciated!
1. Prologue: Faded Memories

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

**Disclaimer:**  I do not own King of Fighters, the characters, or premise of the story.  They belong to SNK.  The story will take place from the end of the King of Fighters '99 Tournament through the King of Fighter's 2000 Tournament with some slight variation to the story.  The plot mostly focuses on _Team Fatal Fury_ and _Team Kyokugen_ and their side stories that develop between the two tournaments.  I use both these teams because they were SNK's original fighting teams and lately they've been getting the boot to the slew of new characters showing up in the recent King of Fighters games.  This is my first "official" fic on FanFiction.net but hopefully not my last.

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**Prologue**

"Hey King, pass me another drink," orders a surly old man.  His speech is not completely fallible just yet, easily showing signs of his experience as a drinker.

"No problem," King replies in a mono tone as a cold glass of bourbon slides over to the awaiting individual.

The bar seems to be running smoothly as always.  A few of the regulars hanging out, a couple of new guys shooting pool.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

***CRASH***

The entrance to the bar gets slammed hard, violently shaking the walls and allowing the painful remains of daylight to peer into the bar.  At the entrance to this bar is a man dressed in a uniquely colored gi.

"What is the meaning of this?!"  King snaps.  The rude entrance by this stranger was disturbing a perfectly good evening and King wasn't about to stand for this.

"I'm looking for a girl named Yuri!"  Called the orange-clad man.  King examined him thoroughly.  He was fairly muscular man, bleached blonde hair, and obviously had some kind of martial arts background because nobody would carelessly walk into a bar wearing a karate gi as a fashion statement.

"Who the hell are you to make such demands in my bar?!"  King snapped back, not even acknowledging the man's request for information.

"The name's Ryo Sakazaki and I'm looking for my sister Yuri Sakazaki," Ryo replied.  He forcefully grabbed the nearest soused individual with one hand and squeezed his alcoholic reeked shirt tight.  "Do you know anything buddy?"  Asked Ryo while shaking the man back and forth.

"That's enough!"  King snapped.  She quickly jumps over the bar and tightens her gloves.  She prepares her fighting stance and stares down the opponent in front of her.

"You need to be taught a lesson in manners," said King as she waves at Ryo to attack her.  "If you want information, you'll have to beat it out of me."

King almost wanted to lick her lips after saying that.  It had been years since the last time she has fought a real opponent.  The embarrassment Thailand had nearly driven her to quit fighting but the demands of South Town drunks kept her in shape.  She was finally going to be tested after all these years to see if she was as good as she thought she was.

"Ora – Ora," Ryo taunted as he broke out into his Kyokugen stance.  Both knees bent and each arm fully extended and parted.

_What kind of karate is this guy into?_  King asked herself mentally.  Before she could formulate a list of popular answer, Ryo came out swinging.

"Hien Shippuu Kyaku!"  Ryo cried as his legs sprinted forward attempting to decapitate his opponent.  King avoided the attack but just barely.  She swayed off to the side allowing Ryo to fly right through and give her an opening to his backside.

Just as she was turning to deliver a kick, her knee was met by Ryo's fist as both collided fiercely rattling the tough bones underneath.

King was in awe.  She could not believe this guy was this fast.  Usually a quick thrust kick to the back of the head would disorient a normal opponent and give her time for a knockout blow but this guy wasn't even giving her a chance to breath.  He just kept coming after her with all of the determination in the world and she knew she would have to pull out all of the stops if she wanted to win this one, let alone survive.

"Trap Shot!"  King shouted as she lunged back, hoping to lure the oncoming opponent and finally give her a chance to breathe.

No such luck however.  Ryo easily bounced back avoiding the attack and prepared one of his own.  He threw his fist hard aiming square in the chest looking to knock the wind out of him.

King felt the tight fist of her opponent coming right for her and barely got her hands up to block it.  However, her arms are telling a different story.  There will definitely be a bruise there tomorrow.

Ryo's blonde challenger back flipped away a few steps leaving a distance of only a few meters but by then they were at opposite sides of the bar.  The few drunks in the background kept chanting King's name, encouraging her on but that was easily drowned out by Ryo's passion for finding his sister, this would have to end here.

It was drawing closer now.  King's breathing was growing more heavily than she had ever felt.  There was no way this guy was going to give up.  She had to keep him at bay and there was only one thing left in her arsenal to keep him at bay and hopefully end the fight.

"Venom Strike!"  Yelled the blonde bombshell as she swung her right leg in a roundhouse motion and released a blue ball of energy that shot straight towards the Kyokugen warrior.

Ryo's feet sprung into action and instantly he was airborne.  The attack quickly passed under him and upon his landing he was standing right in front of the uncooperative bartender with enough time to prepare for his best attack.

"Kououken!"

King flew backwards with a searing pain in her chest.  She had never experienced an attack such as that and her body was paying the price.  The only good thing about it though was the nice draft that was cooling her body as she passed through the air.

No words could escape Ryo's breath at the sight he saw before him.  The guy he just attacked had been exposed.

"A…  A…  A woman?"  Ryo jittered.  _And what a woman_ his brain cursed looking at the size of her voluptuous chest.

The bar fell silent.  All of King's companions and regulars were just as shocked as Ryo was.  Probably even more so.

The fallen woman's arms crossed around her chest, hiding what little dignity she had left.  She was embarrassed once again and she could almost feel a few tears sliding down the front of her face.  It was especially going to get worse now that Ryo was slowly approaching her, probably about to bully the information out of her in her lowly state.

"Here," calmly whispered Ryo as he draped King with the top portion of his gi.  He picked her up from the ground and embraced her tightly with a hug making sure nobody else got a free show and more importantly, keeping her embarrassment to a minimum.

"I am so very sorry about this…"  Ryo proclaimed, "Please, forgive me and my intrusion."  And with that, Ryo took left the bar.  King and the other just stood there watching the scene as if it happened like some sort of dream.  She held on tight to the orange gi still flavored from the warmth of his body.

"King…  King…?"  One of her regulars asked.  Her mind was drifting off, something she's never done before and she kept staring at the door as if she were waiting for something else to happen from the Kyokugen warrior.

"King…?  King…?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"King…?  KING?!"  Xangfei cried.  King snapped away from her day dream and focused on the present day.  No point dwelling on the past in front of your friends, especially a loud mouth like Xanfei.

"What is it?"  She asked.

"Are you going to finish that?"  The Chinese girl asked while pointing to the single egg roll on her plate.  Not caring too much, King waved her hand acknowledging the hungry girls request and her batter fried snack was quickly consumed by her pig tailed companion.

"King of Fighters is getting crazier every year eh?"  Blue Mary commented.  Kasumi and King gave an agreeing sigh and tried to enjoy the rest of the day without dwelling to much on the past.  But then again, it was itching each of them like the elephant in the kitchen that no one wants to talk about.

"So, did anyone find out who the winner was?"  Kasumi calmly asked.  This caused Mary to turn her head sharply and the uncomfortable silence grew.

"Mrf…  Anal Yuri…"  Mumbled Xangfei while stuffing the quickly diminishing pile of food into her face.

"Who?!"  The other three girls asked.

After swallowing the large chunk of fried pork, she looked at everyone and said, "Fatal Fury won…  I think."

"Where did you here this?"  King asked.

"I heard a couple of guys talking.  They said that the only ones they saw leave the sewer was Andy's team."

"You mean Terry Bogard's team.  I thought he was the leader," Kasumi commented.

"Yea, maybe," Xangfei acknowledged while stuffing another roll into her mouth and quickly consuming it.  "But they say he never showed up after the place collapsed."

Blue Mary's hands began to tighten around the table cloth.  This definitely wasn't an easy subject for her.

"Did you happen to hear anything about Kusanagi?"  Kasumi quickly changes the subject after she notices the change in expression from her silent friend.

Xangfei's only reply was a muffled shoulder toss as she was more concerned with finishing up her dim sum plate that the life of the famous King of Fighters champion.  The remaining moments of the meal were held in silence.  No one really felt like talking and they ended the day a lot quieter than it started.

*          *          *          *          *

"Well, take care everyone," Xangfei waved goodbye as she left the group happy and more importantly full.  Her companion's purses weren't feeling as stuffed as she was.

"Where are you off to Kasumi?"  King asked.

"I think I'd like to rest for a little while.  Then I'll continue my training so that next time I'll be more prepared than I was this year."

"Alright, good bye Kasumi?"  King waved as she walked off.  Now it was just the two South Town citizens.

"Want to share a ride home?"  Asked King.

"Yea…"  Was the only think Mary could say.  She was trying to get over the shock of what Andy told her only a couple of hours ago.  All she had left of him was his right glove that she kept tucked away hoping one day he'll return for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Terry…"  Andy sighed.  He didn't even want to hear the name Japan for a long time.  His plane was cruising over the Pacific Ocean destined for Los Angeles.  King of Fighters ended barely four hours ago and he was already leaving.  Andy was close to his brother but he was used to dealing with these sorts of things alone.  He didn't want to be around Mai because she was always in a cheery mood and he couldn't confide to Joe because he was worse with sorting out his emotions than he was.  Hopefully this trip to America will calm his nerves a little bit and give him some time to think.  The one thing he didn't want in his life right now was company.


	2. Chapter 1: The Lone Wolf Returns Unexpe...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

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**Chapter 1: Return of the Wolf / Unexpected Allies**

_10 Months have passes since the last King of Fighters Tournament_

The busy streets of South Town rumble with the sound of daily activity muffled with those of crime and violence.  The town was barely livable after Geese was defeated.  Who could have thought the bad guy was actually keeping the place together?  But that was beside the point.  Geese was a monster and most of the citizens lived in poverty.  The town would just have to get by with what little law enforcement they had left.

"Master Jubei!"  Mai called running up the steps of the dojo.

"Well hello Mai.  You're looking as top heavy as ever," smiled the old timer.

"Knock it off you pervert.  Where's Andy?  I heard he was coming back today."

"Yes he's up in the forest practicing," and before Jubei got another glance at the well figured Shiranui ninja took off, sprinting towards her love.

*          *          *          *          *

"Kachou Sen!"

"Huh?"  Andy reels as a flurry of fans fly towards his direction.  He has the inexplicable feeling of de ja vu but recurring events were not on his priority list.

"Why you…"  Mai shouts as she launches a few punches in his direction.  Each of them were easily deflected by her opponent and soon enough her hands were caught and the attack stopped.

"What's wrong Mai?"

"What's wrong?  WHAT'S WRONG!"  She shouted at him, tears began filling her eyes.  "You leave for almost a year without saying a word and then you ask me what's wrong."

"I'm sorry…  Mai.  It's just –"

"I don't want to hear it Andy.  It's obvious that you hate my guts enough to leave without saying anything – "

"That's not true."

"Then why are you here?"

Andy wanted to say that he was here to see her but that was a lie.  She'd probably catch it the second he finished his sentence.  He didn't really know what else he could do to calm her down.

"Today is the day…"  He calmly replied.

Mai pulled back.  The seriousness in her fiancé's eyes told no lies.  He dropped her hands from his grip and turned away from the ninja girl.  Neither of them had any words to follow up the silence.  The just stood their calmly thinking the thoughts that plagued their minds for the past months.

*          *          *          *          *

Andy stood in the cemetery.  Alone.  Something that hasn't happened since the day first occurred.

"I'm sorry father.  Terry isn't going to be here today," Andy said while placing the flowers he brought right in front of his father's memorial.  Just before he set them down, he caught something in the corner of his eye.

"What's this?"  He pondered while looking at another set of flowers placed off to the side of his father's grave.

_Someone else was here before me…  Could it be?!_

With that, Andy took off running into the heart of South Town.

*          *          *          *          *

_Dear Officer Mary,_

_            Enclosed are the detailed particulars of your assignment.  It seems that King of Fighters 2000 will be taking place despite the events of last year.  Your mission is to continue to observe N.E.S.T.S. and prevent any actions taken place like that of the previous year.  Good luck Mary._

Mary sighed at the sight of the email.  The lengthy attachment was enough reading to keep her busy for the rest of the day but that's what she feared most.  She hasn't taken any big assignments like these in a long time and this one would definitely demand all of her time instead of her own personal mission.

She pulled out Terry's glove from her pocket.  It had been like a piece of jewelry to her.  She's never lost sight of it since that day and would continue to protect it until its owner comes back for it.

With that, she revved up her engine and took off into South Town.

*          *          *          *          *

"Bogard."

"Who's there?"

A man approached from the shadows, dressed in black and not a sign of joking written anywhere on his body.

"It would be smart for you not to get involved this year," the man stated.

"And why is that…?"  Bogard replied.

Silence.

The crowd on the street drowned out any movement in the slums.  Something wasn't right.

Just then, the man lunged forward, looking for a fight.  Bogard's single gloved fist came crashing into the ground releasing a wave of ki energy and smashing his adversary through a building and out the other side.

"Look's like it's going to be another exciting year," he cheerfully stated clutching the invitation he just received in his hand and went for his defeated opponent.

*          *          *          *          *

"Are you sure it's Terry?"  Joe asked his long haired friend.  The great kickboxing legend Joe Higashi was taking time out of his busy schedule (which mostly includes drinking and partying) to look for their lost comrade.

"I can sense it Joe.  He's here somewhere."

In the distance, another blonde haired individual stops her motorcycle in front of the two fighters.  She quickly identifies them as her companions hops off to confront the two.

"Andy!  Joe!  What are you guys doing around here?"

"I found out due to my intellectual prowess that T – " and before Joe could finish his boasting, a man clad in black comes crashing through a nearby wall.

"What the?"  All three ask.  The crowd began to swarm the scene making matters worse to identify what in the world was going on.

"Excuse me, I'll just get that," called a man from the center of the scene.  With the fallen opponent easily in hand, he begins to move through the crowd and onto some familiar faces.

"TERRY!"  Shouted Andy.  The older Bogard brother was looking as fit as ever.  His clothes hadn't changed a bit minus the fact that he was missing a certain left glove.

The group begins to swarm Terry; each wanting to ask a million questions but it was Terry who first broke the silence.

"Do you know who this is Mary?"  Terry ponders while dumping the unconscious body onto the ground.  Mary looks at him with a puzzled expression hoping to identify the type of clothes he wore or even a tattoo affiliation.

"No…  I have no clue."

"What if I tossed this into the mix?"  Added Terry showing his blonde companion the letter he received.

"This is for King of Fighters.  Did he give this to you?"

"No.  But he was there when I picked it up."

"I smell trouble," Joe pointed out.  Stating the obvious was his only high mark of intelligence.

"Then I guess it's of to King of Fighters for us then," Terry cheerfully proclaimed.

"What?  What a second!"  Pleaded Mary, "I don't want you guys getting involved in this sort of thing.  It's too dangerous."

"Danger.  Forget about it, we eat, breathe, and drink danger!"  Joe added hoping to rally his troops.

"Don't worry about us.  We'll do whatever we can to help you out," Terry reassured.  Andy also gave an agreeing nod and it looks like they were going to go at it yet again.

"Is it going to be the 4 person rotation this year again?"  Joe asked with a smirk forming on his face.

"Yea…  Why – ?"  And before Terry could finish his though he also grew a smirk while looking at his brother who now formed a huge shocking expression across his face.

"Oh no!  MAI!"  And shouted thinking about the torment he would now be going through after this decision.  Joe begins to snicker even more and before Andy could even think of a rational way to handle the situation, Joe was taking off.

"I'll break the news to Mai for you Andy.  You better stay and hang out with your brother!"

"JOE DON'T!"  Andy shouted.  His growing concern for his current female situation began showing even more across his brow as he gave chase to his fleeing friend.

Finally, away from prying eyes, it was just Terry and Mary.  She was so glad to see him after all these months.  There was no more need to feel teary-eyed and sad during those long South Town nights.  She wanted to show him how much she'd missed him but she didn't know how to express it.

*SMACK*

"Ow!  What did you do that for?"  Terry asked while rubbing his shoulder.  Apparently Mary wasn't ready to open herself up just yet.  It might be better to vent off some anger first.

"You decide to play hero in the sewer and then I don't hear from you for months!"  She stated with a growing vein sprouting from her forehead.  "What kind of guy are you anyways?!"

Terry looked at her puzzled for a second but then decided to be sincere with her.  He knew it must have been hard to put that kind of weight on everyone, making them think he vanished or worse off, dead.  But his sincerity only lasted a few seconds.  It was time to break in the friendship they had and push it to new found limits.

"Geese.  I didn't think you'd be pining over me for that long.  Aren't there any decent guys left in South Town?"

That statement cause Blue Mary to start looking more like Red Mary.  Every vessel in her face must have sprouted to their full capacity.  She never expected Terry to be that forward with her especially so soon.  Before she even has a chance to counter that statement, her favorite Bogard brother was already down the road walking towards the path of destruction his pals previously made.

"Hey wait up!"  Mary shouted while hoping on her motorcycle.  Terry stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and tipped his cap giving his famous Terry Bogard smile that almost melted her heart like it did the first time they met.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AGAIN!"  Takuma shouted.  The dojo where the famous Kyokugen Karate was practiced was closed today.  Inside where the private lessons for Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia.  They've been sparring for nearly four hours non stop and both were plastered on the mat.

"Geese…  Dad…  Give us…  A break…"  Ryo pleaded.  The most exercise he was getting now was his lungs inhaling and exhaling air.

"Yea master…"  Robert agreed.

"You want a break.  How about one in your neck?!"  Takuma responded.  The brought both students back on their feet but not as fast as Takuma would have liked.  They may have respected him but as far as a sensei went, he was a real hard ass.

Ryo stood up shaking off any excess sweat he could without sparing much needed energy that would keep him on his feet.  Robert didn't even want to think about the stench he'd probably accumulated and what kind of toxic fumes his gi was in possession of.

"Ready?"  Takuma proclaimed.

Ryo broke into his Kyokugen stance only now it looked like a beat up break dancer looking for a hug.  On the opposite end, Robert wasn't fairing as well either.  He lunged back and forth like a zombie and his legs seemed to twitch instead of glide across the mat.

"FI –"  
  


"FORGET IT!"  Shouts Yuri.  Takuma turns around a bit shocked as do his two students but they look a little more relieved than surprised.

"What's the matter Yuri?"  Takuma calmly asks making a big switch from serious to serene.

Yuri dumps the huge tree log she had strapped around her shoulders right onto the mat not caring for what kind of damage it could cause.  She spent the good part of her morning walking up a mountain with that thing on her back as part of her training but the only muscle it really exercised was her mouth.

"I'm sick of this!  Every time King of Fighters rolls around, you become Sensei Mc-Tightwad!"

"Yur –"

"I'm not finished!  You are a great father but an annoying master!  I can't compete with balancing you out as a father and an instructor.  I quit!"

"But Yuri –"

"No discussion.  You, Ryo, and Robert are enough to represent Kyokugen Karate.  I'm going off on my own!"

That one caught the men off guard.  Takuma couldn't think of anything to convince his daughter of his teaching ways so Ryo stepped in while his dad was formulating another strategy.

"Yuri…  King of Fighters is another 4 person rotation this year.  We need you on our team," Ryo asked with what little breath he had.

"Ryo, I'm not a child anymore.  It's time I went off on my own and developed a fighting style my way.  I don't need you guys watching after me anymore."

"But what about King of Fighters?  We can't fight with only three guys…"  Robert added.

Yuri looked kind of puzzled and was real tempted to blow up and say _Well that's not my problem now is it?_ but she felt more compassion for her brother and his team since he was always so good at taking care of her.

"Don't worry Ryo.  I'll find someone strong enough to take my place.  You just wait here and I'll send your new partner up as soon as possible," Yuri nicely stated.  She was just about to exit the dojo when she could hear the faint conversation of her brother and Robert tickling her ear.

"I can't believe this.  I don't know how we can replace Yuri," Ryo pondered.

"That's easy, just get a parrot.  Same buck, different dime…"  Robert sourly commented still feeling bad over the break up.  Before he could finish the snickering, Yuri's tiny shoe came colliding with Robert's nose leaving a nice read mark.

"OW!"  Robert shouted.  He looked at Yuri with his one open eye and can see her taunting him by pulling her eyelid and waving her tongue.  They all watched as Yuri left the dojo and leaving them with their thoughts about what else could make this day even more exciting.

*          *          *          *          *

South Town was just about to fall victim to yet another night and the random hoodlums would begin emerging in no time.  All was quite in the bar called 'Illusion' owned by the famous female fighter King.  She was taking care of some minor cleaning that was usually done before the bar opened.  She only had a hand full of minutes before it did and soon enough her night would get busy.

Suddenly, the door slammed open.  King was sure she locked it but that could wait until later, she had to deal with her rude intruder that decided to make a perfectly good night start out sour.

"Hey you.  I don't know what business you have here but I don't like rude patrons!"  King was having a weird feeling of de ja vu but kicked it aside once she recognized her door's assailant.

"Yuri Sakazaki…  Why you –"

"I'm sorry king but I really need a huge favor!"

King lets her adrenalin fizzle out and offers Yuri a seat.  King pours her some water because she knows how Ryo would feel if his little sister started consuming alcohol regardless of the age.

"I'll make this quick because I have a train to catch but I need you to join my brother's team!"

King couldn't sit down after hearing that.  "Wha – Wait a second!"

"I've already talked to them about it and I've already decided on making my own team.  It's just that Ryo needs a fourth person on his team and you're the only person he would trust with this sort of thing."

That almost made King want to blush.  _Did he really think of me like that?_  Her inner voice pondered but she had to put her side thoughts away and concentrate and the conversation at hand.

"I…  I…"  King found herself stuttering like a school girl with a crush.  Yuri took notice of this and decided to push her buttons a little bit.

"It sounds like your heart is saying yes…"

"That's besides the point!"  King replied trying to regain some of her manner.

"Com'on King…  How many opportunities will you have like this?"  Yuri's constant persistence looks to only make her blonde haired companion more frustrated but hopefully it was working the charm that would make her decision.

"Ughf!  Alright!  I'll join up with your brother!"

"Don't you mean the Kyokugen team?"  Yuri smirked.  This time, King actually let out a little blush but thought it best to finish the conversation instead of playing cat and mouse with Yuri.

"Well, thanks for helping me out King!  I'll see you at the tournament!"  And with that, the young Sakazaki took off.

"Wait!  Don't you want to hang…?  Oy, this girl moves like the breeze," and King shuffled the thoughts of the past few minutes and concentrated on tonight's business.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day breaks in the Sakazaki house.  Yuri is no where in sight and the two Sakazaki men are left to prepare breakfast for themselves.

On the front porch there is a newspaper sitting on the deck.  Ryo walks over and finds it kind of strange since they didn't have a subscription.  The front headline is the kicker to begin his day.

"Former King of Fighter Champion Terry Bogard returns to South Town to defend title…"  Ryo steps back.  He had heard that Terry was lost in the sewer explosion after the final match but this was making things interesting.

"What's the good word Ryo…"  Takuma asked while stretching his muscles.

"Well –"

"WE'RE SCREWED!"  Robert shouted.  He barges into the Sakazaki house full of steam and worry.

"What's the matter with you Robert?"  Ryo asks his friend while pushing him aside.  He strolls all the way to the back of the house near the backyard and right by the dojo to further prove his statement.

"Didn't you here me, W – E  A – R – E SCREWED!"  Robert stated.  "I'm talking phillip's head!"

"Yea, the thing about Terry Bogard.  I heard all about it."

"Nooooooooooo…  Think about OUR situation!"

"You mean Yuri.  Don't worry about it, she's a tough kid.  And we'll be fine without her."

"Did you read today's paper or did you just skip to the comics?!"

Now Ryo was getting a little peeved.  "Alright Robert!  Out with it!"

"Look!"  Robert shouted while shoving today's paper into Ryo's face not giving any consideration to how easy it would have been just to tell him the page number since he was also holding a copy.

Instead of seeing some flashy headline like the return of Rugal or Orochi Iori running a rampage, his eyes are locked on a small insignificant article in the bottom article of the Sports section.

_Local Bar Owner King Has Joined the Kyokugen Karate Team in This Year's King of Fighter's Tournament._

"What…?"  Ryo says with a defiant sigh.

"I know, isn't it horrible?!"  Robert replied.

"No, it's not that.  It's just that I would have thought she would have teamed up with Yuri,"

"Look pal.  Just because your girlfriend gets to be on our team doesn't give you the right to play it all cool tough guy!"

"I'm not playing around.  I'm serious.  I'm worried about Yuri.  You should try it sometime and maybe she'll think of taking you back."

Robert tried thinking of a sly comeback but his mind was still skipping a thought or two after yesterday's intense training.

"This is all your fault.  You set this up so you could be closer to King and you could split me and Yuri apart."

"I had nothing to do with that.  In fact, I hear it was a certain someone's fault for asking a waitress for a telephone number so he could give her a special internship."

"Why you?!"  Robert exclaimed as he was ready to throw a punch.

"Besides, I just heard about this through you.  How could I have set you up?"

Robert calmed down a bit.  Maybe there was something he could say to salvage his honor while humiliating his friend at the same time.  Nothing came to mind.

"That's it.  We're going to rumble!"

"Hold it Robert!  Not in the – " but before Ryo could plead with his friend not to destroy his house, the fight had begun.

"Sorya!"  Robert yelled jump starting the bout quickly executing his favorite back flip kick.  It was rendered in effective since the rules of the street didn't apply to the rules of the house.  Ryo quickly dived through the open back sliding door and wound up in their backyard with Robert still reeling from his missed attack.

"You can't hide from me Sakazaki.  I'm going to plant my foot so far up your ass that you'll be forced to wear my shoes for the tournament!"

"Robert wait!"

"Ryu Geki Ken!"

The fireball had awesome trajectory and with the added adrenaline of Robert, it traveled a lot faster that expected.  Luckily enough, Ryo had practiced dodging his friends projectile attack and easily sway to the side hoping to catch Robert off guard and land some offense of his own.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Ryo stopped his almost started Kohou uppercut and Robert left his foot hanging inches from Ryo's face.

"Sir!"  They both replied while getting into the tradition respectful position.

"You guys are still children at heart.  You never grow up.  Put your squabble aside, Ryo, you have a guest."

"Hey Ryo!"  King waved.

"King?!"  Ryo coughed after breaking into a more relaxed position.  "When did you get here?"

"Just about the time you were mentioning Robert's special internship."

"Oh no, not you too!"  Robert collapsed clutching his hand on his head.  "Why does this only happen to me?"

"I just heard the news a few minutes ago…  How did it happen?"  Ryo asked.

Robert got up, dusting himself and his $800 suit hoping the grass stains weren't permanent.

"Yuri came by last night and practically begged me to do it," King replied.

"Oh geese.  I didn't expect her to go that far.  I wouldn't want you to go through with this if you were kind of forced to."

"Oh no!  That's ok!"  King defended herself rather quickly.  Robert caught a quick glimpse of her actions and decided if she was going to be a part of the Kyokugen team, she'd have to suffer with his wit.

"It's about time you and Ryo finally hooked up.  I'm mean you've been flirting around it for years.  I remember a time when King would dance just hearing the name Ryo Sakazaki.  Could you imagine that Ryo?  King?  Dancing?  It's too – OOF!"  Robert spits as he catches an elbow from King right in the bread basket.

"I joined because I really like the idea of fighting with another team.  It'll give me a chance to hone my skills fighting at a different level with a different set of teammates."

"Yea I'm sure that's what Ryo looks for in a woman – OOF!"  Another remark and another elbow to the mid section.

"I think this will be an exceptionally fun tournament," King happily replied.

"Yea, it'll just be enchanting…"  Robert snarled and just as King's repetitive elbow attack was about to commence, Robert easily caught it and tossed her hand away.

"If you want to be on our team you're going to have to prove your strength.  Kyokugen is the strongest martial arts in the world and if you think your strong enough you'll have to beat me right here and now!"

"Wait Robert.  She did that last year– "

"NEVERMIND!  This time is different," Robert jumped back and assumed his fighting stance.

"This should be fun," King proclaimed as she raised her hands up in the traditional kick boxer's stance.

"Alright.  A fight is the perfect start for a morning of training," Takuma added.

"But father…"  And before Ryo could say another word, the fight had begun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King stared down at Robert.  He was exhausted and his breathing was as loud as car horns.  She couldn't really talk though, she was as beat up as jailbirds after a soccer riot.

"Father…  They've gone on for over twenty minutes, I think that's enough."

"Wait Ryo.  The longer they battle, the more they can improve.  One can only hone his fighting skills at the peak of the battle when it matters most."

Ryo was getting sick of all of his dad's cheesy Kung Fu movie type answers.  But it was that kind of training that made him the man he was today and looking back on it, it didn't seem all that awful.

Robert could see King preparing for one final attack.  A kick boxer was easy to figure out since they mostly rely on their feet to do the dirty work.  Since they also had a balance issue, there isn't much that he can't prepare for when fighting one.

"Surprise Rose!"  King leaped as her body almost came crashing to the top portion of the dojo.  Robert could see this was his chance.

"Sorya!"

Robert's favorite air defense attack was sure to end the match.  That's what his brain thought anyways before his mouth was stuffed with King's work shoe.  He planned is attack way to high and misjudged King's speed.  He luckily caught King's back with the meat of his foot, not delivering the intended power of the attack but effective nonetheless.

Both came crashing to the mat with a sick thud.  King tried to get up but her arms weren't listening.  Robert was also singing the same song as his body just wanted to lay on the mat and heal.

"I think that's enough for today," Takuma said declaring the match over.  A draw definitely sounded good in both fighter's minds than victory.

Ryo ran to King, seeing she was struggling to get him.  He carried her over to the bench and let her rest there for a moment.

"You must…  Have been…  A hell of a bouncer…"  Robert added.  He was also aided by Ryo and sat down in the bench next to the exhausted King.

"I think our team just got a little stronger Ryo," Takuma nodded to his son.  "Isn't that right Robert."

"Yea…  I'd say stronger.  But I bet Ryo's thinking it got a whole lot sexier," Robert implied with a snicker.

"What?!"  Ryo pulled back.  He didn't have anything to say to that but thankfully King was too concerned with regaining stability she would have missed his blush.

King finally stood up and collected herself.  She'd definitely need a day's rest after that bought.

"So King.  Now that you are part of the Kyokugen Team I trust you know what is expected of you," Takuma stated with pride.

"Yes sir.  I won't to anything to dishonor the name Kyokugen."

"Good.  Com'on Ryo.  Prepare the guest bed.  From now until the tournament, King will be staying with us!"

"WHAT?!"  Ryo said with a flabbergasted look on his face.  There was no use hiding the blush now but he couldn't help but notice King had one of her own.

Before anyone could control the situation, a fairly odd looking girl steps into the dojo with a shiny new camera in hand.

"Hello!  I'm Ran Hibiki.  I'm here as a part of the King of Fighter's Newsletter to take a picture of this years Kyokugen Team."

"Excellent," Takuma replied.  "We're all here!  And we're going to show the real power of Kyokugen Karate!"

Robert and King tidied themselves up for the photo.  _Boy was this a perfect time_ they both thought.  Takuma stood in the center with Robert to his immediate left and Ryo to his immediate right.  King stood beside Ryo feeling the internal joy that her body could not show.  Ryo could feel his father awaiting to wrap his arms around his son and kind of felt good that his dad was going to show a bit of affection for the photo.

No such luck however.

"Cheese!"  Ran stated just as she took the photo.  Unfortunately for Ryo, his father didn't wrap his arm around him but pushed him aside.  Ryo was a bit dumbfounded at the action but then he noticed where he landed.

Right next to King with his arm around her shoulders.  The photo would probably be plastered on the weekly King of Fighters Newsletter and there isn't much he could do about it now.  This was going to be an interesting tournament.

________________________________________________________________________

(Author Notes:  Okay, this got the story started.  Most of the story actually happened in the KOF series with some slight alterations by me.  I used this just in case some people didn't know what happened between KOF '99 and KOF '00.  From here on out, this will be my story with a interludes of the actual story.  Please enjoy this chapter and hopefully Chapter 2 will be up before Friday.)

Thanks to KOF Online for the information between KOF '99 and KOF '00.


	3. Chapter 2: No Place Like Home Kyokugen ...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 2: No Place Like Home / Kyokugen Lifestyle**

The wind was calm for the sunny afternoon.  The clouds were spaced out to enjoyable extent and the sky shined a magnificent blue.  South Town was finally silenced with only the humble sounds of children playing and the day was shaping up to be a beauty.  If only life were as simple as today's weather.

"ANDY!!!!"  Mai shouted.  Her anger was growing to an enormous extent and the younger Bogard could only sit and listen to the verbal punishment.

"Look Mai – "

"Don't _Look Mai_ me buddy!  I know what this is.  You're trying to get rid of me aren't you?!"

"Mai – !"

"You want to be able to hang out with your buddies and do whatever you want so long as Mai isn't hanging around your shoulder.  Is that it?!"

"But – "

"I can't believe you'd dump me for some blonde haired bimbo too!"

Andy didn't want to turn around to see Blue Mary's expression.  Maybe she was laughing to hard to catch it like Terry and Joe were but knowing how women were, they hear _everything_ and they always hold a grudge.

"Well, you see…  Terry is my brother and – "

My saw Andy's clever ruse to confuse the conversation.  Mai tilted her body away from Andy's view and stared at Terry.  He was finally back.  _Yippee_.

"Alright Andy," Mai calmed down a bit.  "Fine, I'll sit this one out from your team."

Andy took a big sigh of relief.  He was really surprised she calmed down this quickly.  Usually after something like this she'd be following him around screaming _Andy!  Andy!_ and begging for a marriage proposal even though she already considered him her fiancé.

"But!"  Mai interrupted raising her right index finger.  Andy stood at attention looking deep into her eyes and awaited the catch.

"After this you owe me…  BIG!"  She insinuated.  Andy knew this was going to cost him so he'd thought he'd just buck up and take it like a man.  That's before he saw the hint she gave him.

She took the index finger from her right hand and then formulated a circle with her left.  She calmly thrusted the right index finger into the left hole back and forth, back and forth.  Andy was being mesmerized by this.  It was almost hypnotic.  He began to nod in acknowledgement of her terms.  Then his brain finally kicked him in the eye as he watched what he agreed to.

Andy hit the floor.

His face turned pale, preaching zombie like qualities.  He was in for it now.  So much for keeping his training to just martial arts.

Mai walked towards Terry, a white fan in hand and began poking him in the chest.  "Listen to me Terry.  I know how much you love to play hero but you'd better make sure Andy comes back ok," Mai calmly orders with a violent glare in her eyes.  "Because if anything happens to him…  It'll cost you."  And with that she took her right index finger and pretended to snap it like a twig.

Terry almost wanted to turn pale like his brother but he was more in control than that.  He just gave Mai a happy smile and patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Mai.  We'll be alright," Terry reassured.  Mai doesn't like the smirk of that Bogard since he always seems to get himself into trouble.

"Fine.  Good luck you guys!  See you at the finals!"  Mai cheerily said as she skipped back into Master Jubei's house.

"How the hell can that girl change moods so fast?"  Joe questioned.  Terry just shrugged his shoulders and indicated to his kick boxing friend that they should pick up their half dead companion.

"Come on lover boy.  We'll go back to my pad and you'll feel a lot better once we get some alcohol in you," Joe encouraged to Andy who is now half slung over his shoulder.

"Thrust…  Thrust…  In…  Out…  The…  Impurity," Andy mumbled under his breath.  Joe only heard what was needed to be and dragged him along a little quicker.

"Those guys…"  Terry sighed.  Speaking of sleeping provisions, Terry should start thinking of his own.  "Hey Mary."

"Yea?"

"Is cool if I crash with you at your place?"

Mary didn't know what to say.  She expected in her heart that something like this would present itself but not as non-chalant as Terry was putting on.  So instead of some melodramatic giddy reply, she calmly accepted like she always would say to someone in need.

Especially Terry.

*          *          *          *          *

"Hey nice place you've got here," Terry complimented.  Mary's apartment wasn't the dump she was proclaiming on the walk over here.  He wanted to scope the place out from top to bottom but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.  It's been a long time since he's been in another woman's place.  The smell is still familiar to his senses.  His thoughts were drowned out by the sound of a dog barking.

"Hey Anton!  Long time no see buddy."  Terry began to pet the dog as his tail furiously wagged showing his excitement.

Mary tossed her equipment aside.  She'd have to prepare the place for Terry's stay and it looked like it was going to be a pleasant one.  Now she could finally give him back the glove that she'd been holding for what seemed like forever.

"Yo Mary!"  Terry shouted.  Mary stopped her momentary day dream and turned to face her new roommate.

"I'm going to step out for a bit, I'll be back before dinner time."

"But – "

"Later."  And just like that.  Terry was gone.

Mary sighed.  She took out his glove from her pocket and dangled it in her hands.  Anton soon came over and comforted her the best he could but dogs can't really understand the workings of a female heart.

*          *          *          *          *

The sounds of violence fill the shady streets of South Town.  Night has already fallen upon the city and South Town's worst are beginning to appear and spread.  In this case, one of the worst is being spread across one of the back alleys.

"Damn…"  The thug cursed.  He was getting his ass kicked.  He had no idea who this guy was nor did he ever hear of the name Terry Bogard so he was screwed either way.

"See this kid?  Where is he?"

"Piss off!"  Cried the thug.  He lunged forward, hoping to connect with one punch.  Obviously it would have paid off to know who Terry Bogard was because he sure is punishing himself now.

The punch completely missed its intended target.  Behind him, he saw a blue glowing light aimed right for his chest.

"Burn Knuckle!"

The thug collapsed on a nearby wall.  He left a small indentation of his backside on the brick surface.  Terry approached his fallen adversary, photo well in hand.

"I'm looking for this kid.  People say you've got connections…  Talk."

The thug spit out a few of his fallen teeth.  "I don't know…  The kid.  But…  Word is…  There's a guy…  Another guy…  Looking for him."

"Who…?"  Terry asked, grabbing the beaten opponent, "WHO?!"

"K – K – Kain…"  That was all the thug got out before he passed out.

"Shit!"  Terry cursed in the wind.  He took off his cap and tucked the photo back inside where it had sat for the longest time.  There was no use searching in South Town.  His only resource told him the same information he'd been getting in every town.

His cap quickly found a way to his head and took off into the darkness.  Another night down and the search continues.  It seemed pointless to look for information in this place at this time of day but that was beside the point.  All that mattered was the search.

Terry decided to call it a night.  No use searching in a dead road.  Plus he didn't want to impose on Mary's kindness.  It wouldn't be polite showing up at odd hours of the night.

That didn't matter on this night.  Hidden behind a dumpster, Blue Mary watched the whole ordeal go down and now she was full of questions.  She can't confront him here in the streets.  It'll have to wait until he got back to her place.

*          *          *          *          *

*Knock* * Knock*

Mary quickly rushed over to answer the door.  Surely enough, Terry had returned with a bag of junk food in his hands.  Mary sighed at the sight, wondering how a junk food junkie could be in such great shape but that could be set aside for the moment.  She had a few questions that needed to be answered.

Terry plopped himself on the couch and began diving into his bag of meat, potatoes, and grease.  With a burger in one hand and a pack of fries in the other he pointed towards Mary.  "Want some?"

Mary stood back a bit and declined.  She could image what those extra calories would do to her figure but still was puzzled that Terry could eat so much and still look as good as ever.  Especially that tight butt.

_What am I thinking?!_  Mary cursed in her mind.  She was eye humping a guy who was knee deep in fast food.  Never mind that, she wanted to seriously talk with Terry and she took a seat to the opposite side of the grease consuming fighter.

"Um…  Terry?"

"Yea?"  He replied after swallowing a big bite of his double chili cheeseburger.

"Well…  I was wondering…  You know, where you've been all this time."

Terry took a swig of his soda, "I've been around.  Bouncing from town to town.  You know?  The usual."

"But you never contacted us?"

"Well, I thought it would be best if I got off on my own for a while."

"But I thought!  -- I mean, we all thought you were dead."

This caused Terry to stop his food consumption and look Mary dead in the eyes.

"It'll take more than a building collapsing to stop me!"  Terry joked.  Mary was getting a bit frustrated.

"I've been worried sick about you for 10 months and all you can do is kid around?!"  Mary snapped catching Terry a bit off guard.  He really didn't know what to say to that.  I mean, he was Terry, _the Lone Wolf_ Bogard for a reason.

Terry took off his cap and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.  The place was getting a bit too warm for his taste.  Before he could place it back on his head the photo he was carrying popped out.

Terry could feel the photo wasn't in his hat anymore but now in the conveying hands of his roommate.

"Who's this?"

"Oh him…  He's a friend I've been taking care of."

Mary examined the photo thoroughly.  He was an 11 year old kid with short blonde hair and an orange shirt.  His face resembled someone she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"What's his name?"

"Rock."

"He's a cute kid.  Where is he now?"

Terry didn't respond to that immediately.  He calmly took the photo back and placed it in his hat.

"He's with some friends I know."

That was a lie.

Mary didn't say anything.  Now was probably the time to give him his glove back.  She walked over to her bedroom and picked up the black finger glove that sat next to her green jacket.

_Butch…  What should I do now?_

She walked back to the living room.  Terry was completely out of commission.  He placed his hat over his face and fell into a light snore.  She took the glove back into her room and collapsed on her bed.

This was a great start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't feel comfortable in this Master Sakazaki," King responded.  The baggy grey colored gi she donned didn't exactly suit her fighting style, nor did it highlight her figure.

"Comfort is not a necessity in training.  To fully be able to master a technique or skill you need to practice it in harsh environments.  Then after the skill is mastered, performing it in more comfortable environments will be second nature," Takuma responded.  There was no use fighting it now, she was stuck.

King didn't even know why she agreed to stay with the Sakazakis.  She usually would take care of her training in the morning when her bar was closed and even get in a few fights at night when the bar was open.  Maybe she was intrigued by the fact that she was going to study with a real Karate master.  Or maybe it was her coincidental roommate.

"RYO!"  Takuma called out to the backyard.  He saw his son practicing his Kohou uppercut on one of the tree branches.  After hearing his fathers order's he quickly heeded to his request.

"Sir!"

"I want you to kick King in the center mass."

"Yes sir!"

Ryo spun his leg around and shot forward a front thrust kick.  King lifted her left leg and easily blocked the attack.  She barely even felt it.

"Good.  Now, Ryo I want you to attack King in the face."

"Yes Sir!"

"And King, I want you to block it with your arms it."

King nodded but she was feeling a bit nervous.  Her arms weren't the strong point on her body so she would just have to hope that Ryo's attack wasn't a vicious one.

Ryo's fist came flying forward; King had just enough time to notice that it was the Kyokugen standard fierce punch.

"Ahhh!"  King screamed as she was shot backward.  Her balance was easily taken away by a single blow.

"King!  Oh geese I'm sorry!"  Ryo tried to help King up but Takuma stopped him.

"You're kick boxing is a powerful offensive style but as far as defense you're very weak," Takuma noted.

King's arm twitched.  The pain was still pretty bad even though she blocked the shot.  She started to get up and Takuma continued his analysis.

"If you are going to improve your fighting ability you must improve your defense," Takuma stated.  He then walked over to the back of the dojo where he had a set of free weights and grabbed a pair of weighted arm cuffs.

"Here," Takuma said while draping King's arms in the weight cuff.  "These will teach you defense," he ended while dripping King's arms and letting the weights hang free.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"  King shouted as her hands fell to the ground.  "How much do these things weigh?!"  She panted.

"50 pounds each," Takuma nodded.  "Now the training will begin."

King sighed.  She could barely keep her arms up.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Takuma grab a kendo stick.  He approached her, slightly smacking the stick in the palm of his free hand and giving a little smirk.

This was going to be a long day.

*          *          *          *          *

"Owowow!"  King pouted.  Ryo submerged her hands in a vat of warm water and a special skin healing solution that would relinquish and bruises and slightly harden the skin.

"It hurts…"  She let out after her arms were finally soaked in the solution.  Ryo mentally chuckled a bit.  Even though she put up a tough front, she can be such a girl sometimes.

"Sorry about that…  My dad is serious when it comes to training."

"Man, if I feel this bad now I wonder how you must have felt all those years."

_Hmm, personal insight_.  "Nah, you get used to it after a while."

"I bet – OW!"  She cringed.  "What's going on?!  My arms are tingling!"

Ryo started laughing.  "Don't worry.  That's just the solution seeping into the pores of your skin," he chuckled some more.

King flashed a tiny blush.  She didn't like being embarrassed but this was in front of Ryo; someone she really cared for and he was laughing.  Typical male.

"Sorry King…"  Ryo calmed down, "It's just that I didn't know you could be so girly."

That's it.  King was in full, tomato juice colored face mode.  It wasn't that he laughed at her or exactly what he said but just the thought that he noticed her as a woman instead of a fighter.  She really didn't know how to react.

Ryo could see how King reacted.  Best if he changed the subject.

"Ryo!  King!  Dinner will be prepared in five minutes!"  Yelled Takuma from the kitchen.

"That sounds really good right now.  I don't know if I had any calories left," King added.

Ryo cringed in his mind.  He knew what kind of 'stew' his father was cooking up but it wasn't anything King was going to like.  It tasted like his gi after a weekend in the mountains.  He could warn her now but its best to leave an anticipating woman with her hopes instead of shooting down her dreams and making the day worse.

Then again.  He was talking about his dad's famous _'Protein Rich Muscle Boosting Soup'_.  No man has ever walked the same way again after trying it.  As for women, it still remains untested.

"Hey, the tingling stopped," King happily exclaimed.  She lifted her hands from the mixture and let the remaining liquid flow back into the pan.  Ryo took a towel and dried her arms for her.

"You don't have to – "

"It's alright.  If you don't do it just right, it won't be as effective."

That was a lie.  He just wanted to make sure that King didn't have any permanent injuries.  This was probably the first time she had a training session as hard as that.

"Dinner is served!"  Takuma declared.  Ryo and King got sat down at the table and before they new it, soup was on.

"Here!  Takuma's awesome 'Protien Rich Muscle Boosting Soup'!"  Stated the Kyokugen master.  King was the first one with her spoon up and she dove right in.

She will forever regret that decision.

It wasn't that the soup tasted bad.  It's just that it's the exact opposite of taste nirvana.  Swallowing it proved to be just as difficult and she hoped that no one was noticing.

A gander over at Ryo showed a bit of a different perspective.  The bowl was almost about to be consumed along with the soup.  Ryo looked like he was loving it.  She admired him for that but she still had to deal with the fact that the spoon was still in her mouth.

Ryo dropped the bowl on the table.  He gave a relieving sigh and smiled at King.  The spoon had fallen from her mouth and landing right back in the bowl of soup.

He had a clothespin attached to his nose.

_Why that?!  _King thought.  She looked over at Takuma who was just about finished with his bowl and saw the exact same sight.

"But – But?"

"Takuma's awesome 'Protien Rich Muscle Boosting Soup' is not famous for its taste," Takuma noted.  She was too tired to even notice her own personal clothespin sitting in front of her bowl.  She'll never forget that taste.  She'll need a double dose of mouthwash tonight.

*          *          *          *          *

King's stomach grumbled pretty badly.  She was going to have to adjust to this new lifestyle but it certainly wasn't going to start tonight.  Not if her stomach had anything to say about it.

It was getting pretty late, almost midnight but King found that sleep was still a distant star.  Her body was exhausted and her mind completely empty of all thoughts but sleep.  There was just something that she couldn't put her finger on.

*VROOM!*

King shot up.  _What was that?!_  She got up from her mattress and headed toward where the sound came from.

She soon found herself in the Sakazaki garage.  Working diligently, Ryo was fine tuning his motorcycle and giving it some routine maintenance.  There was only thing different from him now was that his shirt was not on his body.

King pulled back.  She was real uncomfortable seeing a guy like this, especially Ryo.  It wasn't the fact that he was shirtless, Lord knows how many drunks forget what proper fashion dictates but this was different.  This comes along the lines of peaking in the boy's locker room and that was a mental crime.  Especially since she was going to be living with this guy for the next 2 months.

"Oh King!"  Ryo called out.

_Shit!  Busted!_  King was sloppy because she was lost in Ryo's rippling muscles.  _No!  No!  No!  Talk to him, or he'll think you're peeping._

"H – Hey Ryo," Ok it wasn't the slickest response but it would have to make due.  Time to change the subject, "What are you doing?"

"Oh…  I'm just tweaking my bike."

"I see.  Why so late?"

"Oh.  Well, when King of Fighters rolls around, most of my day is spent training.  I can only do this sort of thing real late at night.  I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"Oh no!  That's alright!"  She defended.  "I hadn't fallen asleep yet."

"Speaking of which, what's keeping you up?"

"Oh…  I don't know."

"Dad's special stew?"

Now that she thought about it, her stomach was still feeling a little awry but that wasn't it.

"No.  It's just.  Well, I'm a bit uncomfortable."

"I see.  I should talk to dad.  You shouldn't have to stay here if you don't want to."

"That's not it!"  She snapped back.  "It's because.  Well, I – I – ," King found herself stuttering again just like before with Yuri.  She wanted to look in Ryo's eyes but his reaction was a bit different.  He was blushing pretty badly.

"Ryo?"

"Um…  King?  It's…  It's kind of cold in here.  You know?"  Ryo observed.  King had no idea where he came up with that.  Was it because he was checking out her body?  She had picked out a pretty tight pair of pajamas.

No Ryo wasn't like that but she decided to inspect her garments anyways, just in case.  He was a guy of course.

Down below her next she could see that the top button was undone but it wasn't revealing anything.  The trouble was at the top of the hills where she could see two tiny mountains forming.  He was right, it was cold in here.

"KIYAAAAH!"  King screamed while throwing her arms across her chest.  She took in a blaze of speed.  Ryo didn't even get the chance to apologize.

"Oy…"  Ryo sighed.  He collapsed over his bike and took another deep breath.  His bike would have to wait another day.  Better to get the night over with as soon as possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  Ok, here's the true introduction to the story.  I finished this a lot quicker than I thought I would.  I might have Chapter 3 done on Wednesday but I think I'll wait for 1 or 2 more reviews.  I don't like working on a lost cause and I would appreciate any comments given.  Also, if the grammar seems a bit shotty, that's because I usually finish the chapters late at night.  Plus I don't have any pre readers.  Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll stick around for the grand finale.)


	4. Chapter 3: Old Wolf, New Tricks Becomin...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 3: Old Wolf, New Tricks / Becoming a Master**

_4 Weeks Until the King of Fighters Tournament_

The bustling streets of South Town were perking up. Vendors were overpricing King of Fighter Memorabilia and security was definitely a lot tighter. More visitors from across the globe were arriving and fans couldn't wait to see their favorites compete. One of those, Terry Bogard, was already walking down that road. People began to point and stare, wondering if he really was the legendary fighter from South Town.

"Excuse me?" A little eight year old girl walked up in front of Terry. "Are you the Wolf Man?"

Terry gave the girl a smile. "Yea. Don't I scare you?"

The little girl giggled. "No. You're my favorite. When I grow up, I want to be just by you!"

Terry couldn't help but smile again. "Sure kid. All you have to do is eat your veggies and you'll grow up big and strong too."

"Jenet! What are you doing?" Asked the girl's mother. She grabbed the girl by the hand and continued walking away scolding her. Terry tipped his hat slightly and continued on his way.

Slipping through the crowd, Terry found himself in the back streets of the city. It wasn't the safest part but at this time of day, there wasn't anything dangerous to someone like Terry.

"Hee – Yah!" Screamed a voice. Terry could feel the attack coming and he easily blocked it and tossed the kick away.

"POWER WAVE!" Terry cried. His ground traveling ki blast crashed against a nearby building causing a rather large dent. His opponent was already airborne completely dodging the attack.

Terry turned to face his adversary. _Well I'll be damned._

"Kim Kaphwan."

"Terry. It's good to see you're still as fit as ever."

"I'm glad to see you've improved as well. What are you doing around my neighborhood?"

"As you know King of Fighters is beginning soon and my team and I were getting ready to compete."

"Seems a bit early," Terry pondered. Usually Kim and his crew wouldn't show up until a few days before the tournament in order to get all of the training he can. "There's something else isn't there?"

"I cannot fool you Terry. I'm investigating a slew of beatings. It seems there is a man walking around the streets here recently causing all kinds of trouble."

"Huh?" Terry wondered that himself. He's been searching the streets every night and he didn't hear about anyone causing trouble. Unless of course Kim was coming after him. _Uh oh…_

"Yes. He's been attacking a number of people from violent drunks to the premiere street fighters."

_Crisis averted_. Terry had be fighting a few opponents and causing some trouble but none of the people he met he would ever call premiere fighters.

"Any description."

"No. No one he fought has ever got a good look at him. But there have been traces of burn marks all over the victim's bodies."

"Hmm… Fire and ki energy can leave a nasty mark. Anything more specific?"

"Some men who found one of the last victims said he was hit by a purple light."

"Purple?" Terry thought for a moment. _Who could have used purple ki energy?_

"Also. One of the men who recently got out of the hospital said his assailant was looking for someone."

"Looking for someone…" _Who…? KAIN!_ Terry shouted in his brain. The shear thought of that name brought an angered expression on his face.

"Yes. That's everything that is known for now. I'll find him and bring him to justice."

"No Kim!" Terry pleaded. "Listen, this isn't something you should be concerned with before King of Fighters. Don't worry about him. I'll be looking for him."

"But Terry!"

"Hey, you've got a wife and two great kids. What would happen if daddy wasn't around to teach them Tae Kwon Do?"

Kim sighed. Terry was right. He didn't really have much of a purpose being there anyways. This was Terry's city and if anyone new were to find this guy, it would only be Terry.

"You win Terry. As always."

There was no way Terry could hide his grin.

"But don't get so cocky. I won't be slacking off this year."

"Alright Kim," Terry said while giving him a slap on the hand. "Take it easy buddy."

Kim nodded and left his old friend. He would soon be lost in the crowd of fans and in no time back at home where he would be safe.

Disbelief was the first thing that clouded Terry's mind. Kain was rampaging in South Town right under Terry's nose. The only thing he didn't get was why he was looking for Rock Howard. There's only one way to find that out and Terry will only learn that through confrontation.

_Kain__… You're not going to get away with this!_

* * * * *

The serene waters of the forest river were just what Andy needed. Silence. Pure unadulterated silence. This was the meaning of life to Andy. Complete and utter simplicity blanketed in the womb of silence.

"ANDY!" Joe screamed.

_So much for that_. "What is it Joe?" Andy calmly replied.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were still alive that's all."

That irritated Andy. He was already having enough problems with Mai and just when he would finally get some time to himself to think and train in peace, here comes the loud mouth kick boxer.

"Joe… Don't you have anything else better to do?"

"What do you mean? I've got nothing but blue skies and a fresh bottle of whiskey in my room. There's nothing I can't do!" Joe happily replied.

"What about training?"

"Oh, I took care of that this morning."

_Sigh._ "That's not what that empty bottle of scotch was saying."

"Oh come on Andy, give me a break. It's a celebration. We're the returning champs. We don't have to take it that seriously," Joe reassured. "Plus we've got Terry – "

"Terry! We shouldn't be relying on Terry! If we do we'll only grow weaker and how could we ever help him if he's in danger if we're weak?!"

Joe took a step back. Andy was right. After what happened last year, there was no way Joe was going to live with that ordeal and especially now when he's experienced it.

"Sorry Andy…"

Finally some direction. "All right, what are you going to do now?"

"Come on Andy. Let's throw down!" Joe proclaimed while throwing his shirt off. Andy smiled at the sight. A good sparring match is just what he needed to sooth his nerves after all that silent meditating.

* * * * *

"Terry?!" Mary shouted. "Terry where are you?"

It was getting pretty late. She was waiting in front of a Chinese restaurant. Terry had promised to meet her there to have a late supper. She was actually pretty excited about this. So excited in fact that she actually dressed up in casual clothing. They were supposed to meet at 9 o'clock and it was pushing 9:30.

_Where are you Terry?_

*CRASH*

_What was that?!_ Mary thought. _It came from behind the restaurant_.

Mary peered around the corner. Something was definitely wrong about this situation. It was pretty dark. The old, half-burnt out light flickered as it flailed in the wind. The closest person to her was some real big guy wearing a black suit. She couldn't make any particulars on the face since she was facing his back but it looked like he was talking to someone. She walked out more to get a better view when she saw the other guy.

_TERRY!_

She had no idea what was going on but it didn't look good. Now it was becoming clear. This guy's suit had the same look as the one a month ago that Terry plastered through a wall. What did he want now? She stepped in to listen.

"Bogard. I thought you would heed our warnings."

"Sorry pal. I've got my own business to take care of. I'm not going anywhere."

The suited male threw off his jacket. He was extremely well built. He almost didn't look human. The man charged forward throwing his fist with a great desire to smash the uncooperative Bogard into fragments of calcium.

Terry was smarter than that. He cleanly stepped aside and allowed his opponent to fly forward. Terry jumped back and fully extended his leg right into his back. The shock sent the suit taking a couple extra steps back but not much.

Bogard frowned. It didn't even phase him. "You know, you Kritzald flunkies are getting tougher by the tournament. What model are you? Cheap-o-dyne Systems Model 007?"

"Kritzald? Don't make me laugh. Kirtzald was executed for being beaten by a mere mortal like yourself. My mission was sent from a being of higher power."

_Kain__?__ No…_ Kain didn't have any henchmen that Terry knew about. This guy might be from somewhere higher above. No time to think about the hierarchy of leadership, this guy came out swinging.

Terry avoided punch and kick, left and right. This guy was on a mean streak and he wouldn't end until one of them was dead. This wasn't looking good.

The suit went for a front snap kick but Terry easily avoided that weak attack. That's before he realized the intial attack wasn't a front snap kick but a heel drop.

Terry's chest burned with a fiery pain. The man threw two more punches right in his mid section and then sent him flying to the other side of the slum with a devastating haymaker. Terry skidded across the ground and finally stopped after a rolling finish.

_TERRY!_ Mary desperately wanted to shout but is she said anything to alert the man that she was watching, she could make the situation a whole lot worse.

Slowly, Terry was back on his feet. He shook his head a couple of times to make sure nothing was loose up in there and then dusted himself off. He was quite a mess.

"Boy you deluxe models really pack a punch," Terry joked. "I think I just might have to go all out." He stated and before the suit could even react, Terry started his counter attack.

"Power Wave!"

The suit quickly jumped over the ground projectile almost wanting to curse at how weak his opponent thought of him. Down below Terry was singing a different tune.

"Rising Tackle!" Terry shot up into the sky. This simple tactic had won him a lot of battles when he started a fight. It was always good to fool your opponent even in the midst of a heated battle.

Terry could feel his heel being slapped about. _Shit!_ He swore in his mind. Terry pulled off a flip and landed on his feet. Only a few more tricks left up his sleeve.

"Crack Shot!" Terry flew in the air and his heel was about to come crashing down on his opponents skull.

_FOOL!_ The suit said in his mind as he stared down Terry almost telepathically telling him he was doomed.

"Huh?" The suit called out. He missed on purpose. Terry's heel came crashing down alright but not at any flesh. _What was he -_ .

"Power – " Terry started his power dunk but his hand was instantly caught and he was tossed to the other side of the slum. He gracefully landed back on his feet now wondering what it will take to beat this guy.

"It's useless Terry Bogard. I have watched movies of every fight you had been in during King of Fighters and I have read detailed files on your physical abilities. You have no chance in beating me."

"Hmm… Movies and books eh?" Terry tried to quip but he was definitely close to hitting the fan because he was already in some serious shit. "I guess I'll have to teach you that even an old wolf can learn new tricks."

The suit was intrigued. What was he missing? Before his mind could even process possible conclusions, Terry dashed forward.

"IWOKEN!" 

_The Burn Knuckle?!__ Is this guy taking me serious?_ He spat. The suit practiced for hours in the simulator how to catch the Burn Knuckle and all you needed was a strong –.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" The suit's heart retched. This was the fastest he'd ever seen anyone ever move. He saw his arms were already too late. He had grabbed a hold of Terry's elbow.

Terry cocked back, it was time to finish this.

"BUSTER WOLF!"

A triangular burst of ki energy shot from the ground below. Much similar to the power wave, the blast didn't seem to travel forward but it was used as a sort of _shooting back_ mechanism. The sight was purely marvelous. Mary's jaw had dropped.

The suit smashed against the wall he'd been trying to throw Terry into. His head began to bleed and his chest was a burning vault of fire. What had I been hit with?

Terry approached the suit. His right arm glowed with a marvelous blue energy and that soon quickly followed to his eyes.

"When they find you… Tell your boss I have a message for him!"

"W – Wh – What?"

"Your carcus!" Terry shouted. He began to slam his fist into the ground.

"POWER GEYSER!"

The pool of ki energy engulfed the fallen suit. He didn't even have the strength to scream.

Terry sighed. The sign of a long hard fought battle. He was feeling good. His opponent was lucky he was in such a good mood that he pulled the strength of his Power Geyser or else he'd be a smudge on the wall. As soon as the dust cleared he confirmed that the suit was still breathing and took off. He already knew he was really late and Mary was going to be pissed.

Mary caught Terry walking into her direction. She panicked. What would he say if he caught her watching him? Would he scold her and tell her to mind her business? No, that's not the Terry she knew. _What to do? WHAT TO DO?!_

"Hey Mary!"

"AH!" She screamed. _Damnit__ I took too long to figuring out what to do and I ended up doing nothing._

_Say something stupid!_

"Oh – H – Hey Terry." _Great one slick_.

"Sorry I'm late. You didn't wait long did you?"

"No, um… I just got here!" _Bullshit._

Terry just sat there and gave her a smile. _Did he even figure I was watching him? What was going on?_

"Come on. Let's eat. I'm STARVED!" He said in a cheery voice. Mary had to smile at that. Even after a rough fight he was still the same Terry Bogard.

Terry slung his arm over her shoulder. Mary was in a slight blush. Terry looked at her and smiled.

"Hungry?"

She nodded. Too embarrassed to give a vocal response. This was the first time he was actually being affectionate. She tucked her arm around his rib cage and gave it a gentle squeeze. This was definitely turning out to be a good night.

_That ought to bury the incident_ Terry thought. He felt bed manipulating Mary like that but it must be done. He really didn't want her involved.

They entered the restaurant and the host greeted them as a couple. Mary calmly tried to correct him but Terry let it pass. _This will add some icing to the cake._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"King. Take care of the house for us. We should be back in a week or so," Ryo stated. He was going away with his dad for some kind of _Ultra Hardcore Survival Training_. He wasn't sure on the name. Whenever his dad talks about training he only listens to the first and last words.

"All right Ryo. Have a good trip. Don't forget to protect yourself at night!" King replied. _What am I saying?! I'm sounding like his mother. Or worse off, his spouse._

Thankfully, Ryo just played it cool and before she knew it both Sakazaki men were gone. She really wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but Takuma kindly noted that he was going to bring in one of his advanced students to help her train while she was away. Never a dull moment in the Sakazaki house.

"Hey King!!!!" Shouted a young female from the front door. She turned around and found that the third owner of the Sakazaki name had let herself in.

"Oh, hey Yuri."

"What are you up to?" Yuri calmly asked.

"Nothing really. Not yet anyways," she dreaded. She would still have to continue her training even thought Takuma was long gone.

"Oh I see. Where's my brother? I needed to talk to him about something."

"Oh Ryo? He took off just a couple of minutes ago with Takuma."

"WHAT?!"

"Yea, they're going to the mountains for two weeks. Some kind of survival training."

"Oh shoot! That Ryo! Always unreliable!"

"What do you mean?" King asked. As far as she'd known, Ryo was a really great guy. He always took care of things, helped her during training, and even did things that normal guys wouldn't do. _Why was Yuri so pissed?_

"Darn. How am I supposed to get my gossip now?!"

_WHAT?! What gossip?!_ King screamed to herself. "Um… What – What are you talking about Yuri?"

"Well, every week or so I'd swing by and talk with Ryo and he'd tell me how things were going."

_Oh, seems harmless enough…_

"And he'd tell me how things were going with you and if he's done anything about it."

"WHAT?!" She shouted to her short friend. She meant to keep it an internal thought but the shock of it all caused it to move forward.

"Yea. Like he's kind of concerned that you've been avoiding him at nights after the night you flashed him."

"WHAT?!?!?!?! That's completely untrue!" King defended herself. _That jerk Ryo, I was just complimenting him in my mind too!_

"Yea. He says when you saw him with his shirt of, you got all excited."

"HEY! It was just really cold in there that's all!" Said King in a mad blush.

Yuri laughed. She had her fun long enough. "I'm just kidding King. Ryo never said those things. I was just trying to have some fun with you."

"Why you?! Yuri!"

She couldn't help but laugh again. King was so easy. "I thought you could use a little humor after living here so long. It must be killing you here."

"Well, not really."

"What?!" Yuri shockingly replied.

"Sure the training might be hard but it's kind of fun sometimes. Seeing Ryo and Takuma spar and after Ryo would catch Takuma in a slip up, he'd laugh and say what it must feel like to be an old timer."

Yuri had to laugh at that. Ryo wasn't George Carlin but occasionally he would make someone laugh.

"Then there are the times when Ryo would help me train. I really appreciate him for that because it must be hard for him to get in enough time for his training and then help me out."

"Ryo's never going to master Kyokugen!" Yuri joked. King wondered why Yuri would laugh so hard at that.

"What do you mean?"

"He never gets enough time to train for himself. Every time at the dojo, someone always needs his help and only big brother can take care of it."

_Oh my God! I'm standing in his way_ King flustered.

"But don't get him the wrong way. He enjoys doing it."

"Huh?"

"He really likes helping people that aren't as strong as he is. I remember when we were learning at the same time, he wouldn't advance to learn a new move until we both mastered the previous one."

"Wow…"

"Yea Ryo's a real great guy."

_Yea.__ He's the greatest guy I know_ King thought with a smile on her face.

"I heard that."

King pulled back with a small blush.

"Don't worry King, my brother will come around. At least you're not hounding him like Mai would."

That made King feel a little better. She was still uncomfortable talking about the subject but now the mood wasn't so serious.

"Hey, how about coming by tomorrow afternoon for lunch?" Yuri asked.

"I don't know. Takuma said I have to be training twice as hard for the time he is gone. Plus he's sending over one of his students to watch over me."

"Psssh… I'll take care of him. When's he coming by?"

*KNOCK*

_Speak of the devil._ "That must be him now, wait here!" Yuri ordered.

"But Yuri!"

Yuri violently opened the door. Standing in front of her was a behemoth. He was easily 6 and a half feet tall pushing 7. His hairstyle came from the late 70's and he was fully dressed in an ivory Kyokugen gi.

"Khushnood!!!" Yuri pouted, "Why did dad send you?! You're only a brown belt."

"Master Sakazaki said that my devotion for training would definitely compliment King's necessities."

Yuri gave a cracked _'ugh'_ expression. If her dad wanted to give King training when he was away, Khushnood was his man. Therein lies the problem.

"Nice to meet you Khushnood – "

"That is sensei Butt to you!" Khushnood replied.

King looked at Yuri and she returned a wicked grin. Seconds later, they were rolling around on the ground in hysteria. Khushnood didn't like the proceeding show.

"GET UP OFF YOUR ASS AND PREPARE YOURSELF!" Khushnood ordered. That was all King needed to here. She immediately stood up in attention mode and awaited further orders. This guy sure sucked the fun out of the mood.

"If you will please excuse us Sensei Sakazaki, I would like to begin King's training."

_Sensei Sakazaki.__ Boy this guy changed moods fast_ King thought.

Yuri looked back at King and gave her a wink. "All right Khushnood. I'll go but I have a favor to ask."

"Yes Sensei Sakazaki."

"Tomorrow King has some plans with a few of her friends and she won't need you to show up for training."

"But I was told by Master Sakazaki to show up every day from dawn until dusk!"

Yuri grabbed Khushnood's hand in both of hers. She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes as she massaged his rough hands.

"Please Khushnood. It would make me real happy."

Red circles formulated around Khushnood's dark skin. He had always had a small crush on Yuri but buried it during his Kyokugen training. Since she was no longer with Sensei Garcia, this was especially appealing.

"O – Okay Sensei – "

"Just call me Yuri, ok Khushy?"

"Yes – Y – Yuri."

_Sucker!_

"All right King, I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck."

King was amazed at the sight. She didn't know men could be easily manipulated. Especially someone like Khushnood who looked like he was serious about martial arts training.

Before King could blink again, Yuri was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief telepathically thanking her friend for smoothing over the brown brick wall she was about to confront.

"All right King, let's get started!"

King looked at Khushnood with an unpleasant sigh. He was carrying eighty pound arm weights and Takuma's personal kendo stick. She prayed that today would go smoothly with secretly wondering if Ryo was going to have it this tough today.

* * * * *

The rocky hills of the mountain side were a tough climb. Ryo and Takuma had been climbing for almost two hours and this was just the start. Takuma had explained the real priority of the mountain training would be at the top and Ryo thanked the gods above that they were almost there.

"Just a few more feet Ryo."

"Yes sir!"

Finally. Vindication. They had reached the top. The air was much thinner this high up but the smell of the fresh mountain range brought a good feeling in Ryo's lungs.

"All right Ryo. For the next two weeks you will only practice the Kououken and nothing else."

"Why father?"

"Kyokugen Karate's foundation is the strength in one's attacks. You have already mastered the Kohou, Hien Shippu Kyaku, Zannretsuken, and Mouko Raishin Setsu. You have neglected your studies about the Kououken; the only move that gives Kyokugen strength at great distances."

Ryo nodded.

"Now, show me a standard Kououken!"

Ryo nodded again. He took his Kyokugen stance, trust his fist back and threw it forward.

"Kououken!"

The ki blast only traveled one or two feet forward. Ryo sighed. He'd surely been neglecting this technique.

Takuma nodded. He put his arm across his shoulder and thrusted it forward.

"Kououken."

Takuma's blast traveled a great distance striking an opposing mountain. Ryo knew his father's strength and was still way too fresh to achieve that level.

"The key to throwing a Kououken Ryo is intensity. You must think and feel your body charging in its inner power and then releasing it at a great distance."

"How can I increase my intensity father?"

"Focus your mind on nothing but emotions. Let your mind relax and focus on things that make your body more at ease."

"Like what father?"

"When I charged my Kououken, I think about you, your sister, and all of my students. The intensity of my feelings toward them helps me bring forth the power I need to use my Kououken."

"Yes sir."

"All right Ryo. Show me your Haou Shoukouken!"

Ryo nodded. He would need to change his mind set and body position for this attack.

"The Haou Shoukouken technique is the strongest of Kyokugen Karate."

"HAOU!" Ryo cried out. His hands began glowing with a brilliant blue light as his muscles tightened. They were thrown forward with a violent intensity.

"SHOUKOUKEN!" The massive blue ki blast traveled at marvelous speeds. It was twice as fast as Takuma's standard Kououken but dwarfed in comparison. Ryo's blast was almost as tall as he was and gave a small smirk as it crashed into the side of a mountain.

Takuma nodded. "Your form is excellent Ryo. Completely flawless. But your blast is not intense enough."

Ryo nodded.

"The color is still that of a standard Kououken. You need to keep charging it until it reaches the color of your gi."

"But father. There is no way an opponent would let me stand there that long!"

"Correct. That is why you must focus your mind and body on intensity. This is only the first day Ryo. We have a much longer road ahead of us."

Ryo nodded again.

"You must learn to master the Kououken Ryo. It is important for you and the survival of Kyokugen Karate. This will train you and make you the man you will become for the rest of your life."

Ryo agreed. He was going to train long and hard before he would be at Takuma's level. If only he cared for something or someone as much as he did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Note: Ok we've got the ball rolling. Look's like the story is unfolding pretty good in my opinion. Thanks for the reviews guys, keep them coming. The more reviews I get in the more I get motivated to write. I'll see if I can get Chapter 4 up by Thursday.

Story Note:

- Terry Bogard's Buster Wolf: Ok, I read at a lot of places and a lot of FAQs that before Terry starts his Buster Wolf he says "Are you Ok?" I don't buy that one minute. I don't think anyone would ask if someone was ok before you busted their as in the face. I used my best judgment and said "IWOKEN". If you think about it, maybe Terry is saying "Burn Knuckle" in Japanese instead of English because it would sound funny if he said "Burn Knuckle" and then "Buster Wolf." "IWOKEN" could possible mean "Burn Knuckle" in Japanese because "Ken" means "Fist" and maybe "IWO" means "Burn" or something similar.

- Khushnood Butt name: As far as the Japanese game goes, his real name is Marco Rodriguez. I used Khushnood because that's what he is called in the English version and that is the one I play.

Alright. That concludes Chapter 3. Hopefully I'll see you all for Chapter 4.

P.S.: I plan on carrying this fic right through the KOF '00 tournament so those who think the fic will end early and really want a sequel, you'll get that and possibly more. We could easily see 10 – 12 chapters. Take it easy guys.)


	5. Chapter 4: Rock in a Hard Place Trusted...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 4:  Rock in a Hard Place / Trusted Memories**

Mai shot down a cold vat of alcohol.  The resulting cough is one of inexperience.

"Blegh!  What is this stuff King?!"

"It's called vodka and it's disrespectful to drink it that way," King responded.

Three women sat in the warm interior of the _'Illusions'_ bar.  Mai Shiranui, Yuri Sakazaki, and King were spending a quite minute there after an afternoon of shopping.

"I'm sorry but I thought this stuff would help.  The stores were mobbed today!"

"Alcohol is good for taste.  It doesn't answer any problems but one of thirst," King replied.

"You don't have act to so manly in front of us King.  We're not going to rip your shirt off," Mai replied.  King blushed a little bit mentally regretting telling Mai the story of when she first met Ryo.

"Come on Mai, give her a break.  Let's just relax and enjoy a day off without any distractions."

Mai slammed her glass down.  She was still pretty upset with Andy even though she really wanted to see him.  They haven't talked since that day in front of Master Jubei's house.

King took a sip of her wine.  She was feeling pretty relieved now.  She was going to see her brother just as soon as she was done with Mai and Yuri and she desperately wanted to thank Sally and Elizabeth for looking after him and the bar while she was away.

*KNOCK*

"Who could that be?"  King said.  It was about 2 o'clock and her bar wouldn't be open for a few more hours.  Probably some lost tourists looking for directions.

King stepped up to answer the door.  Yuri waved her down, "Don't worry King, I'll send them away."

Yuri opened the door.  Staring back at her was a very unusual sight.

It was Blue Mary and she was smiling.  Not just a '_happy it's today and not yesterday smile'_ but a genuine pleased smile.

"Hey Yuri," she said with a very happy tone.

"Mary, what's up?"  She asked back.  "Come on in, we were just having some lunch."

Mary walked in and greeted the other two women.  Mai gave her a little nasty glare but Mary waved it off.  She was in too good of a mood to be soured now.

"Where did you come from Yuri asked?"

Oh Mary wanted to say she had a wonderful evening chatting away with Terry about this and that and that now her life was finding more meaning but she decided to keep it simple and not enter into too many details.  Not just yet.

"Oh I was in the neighborhood and I wondered if King was around to have a little chat.  This is a nice surprise though, I didn't expect all of you to be here."

"We just came back from shopping.  Want something to drink?"  King asked.

"Oh no thanks," Mary replied.  "I'm not thirsty."

"That's it!"  Mai shouted.  The other three girls gave her a weird stare.  "I'm sick of you parading around like you're the bloody queen of England.  What are you so happy about?!"

Mary sighed.  She knew Mai was still going to have mixed feelings about the whole King of Fighters thing but she didn't want to say anything to upset her for Andy and Terry.  But the truth was a lot more appealing than staying quite.  I mean, she didn't have anything to hide.  She had a great time with Terry and Terry alone.

"Well, last night – "

"AH HA!  You were with Andy weren't you?!"  Mai's paranoia was reaching new heights.

Mary took a deep breath and shot down any illusion of her being with Andy.  Mai calmed down a bit but was still feeling a little insecure.

"Me and Terry went to dinner last night."  That almost came out like she was a little girl with a crush.  Well, half true anyways.  "It was really something."

"Oh yea, what fight did you have to pull him from to get him to commit to that," Mai shot back.  Mary was a bit flustered.  She really must have known Terry like the back of her hand.

"Well – Um…"

"I knew it!  That Bogard is always getting himself into trouble," Mai responded.  Mary didn't have anything else to say.  Her good mood was suddenly taking a turn in the other direction.

"So…  What happened?"  Yuri asked.

"Well…  We were supposed to meet at that Chinese restaurant on the other side of town but when I got there, he was already…  Pre-occupied."

"As usual," said Mai.

"Anyways.  I found out that it was the same guy from before that was looking for Terry."

"How did you find out?"  Asked King.

"Well, I was kind of…  Spying…  On him."

"What?!"  Mai shouted.  "What do you meaning spying on him?"

"I mean…  Well, lately he's been going out at really odd hours of the night and whenever I see him, he never answers me.  And even when I ask him about it or hint at it, he always changes the subject."

"Did he catch you last night?"  Yuri pondered.

"Well…  No, he didn't say anything about it."

"Ah ha!"  Mai said.  "You got swindled again."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen.  You were spying on him right?  You think he didn't catch you he's a lot keener than you suspect.  I bet he did and instead of confronting you about it he just changed the subject and made you forget all about it, didn't he?"

_Oh shit!  She's right!  What the hell did Terry do to me?_  Mary thought.  Her puzzled look was a dead give away about her situation.  So much for her good mood.

"Mary, don't feel bad.  It's just – "

"It's just WHAT?!  Huh?"  Mary was pissed.  She didn't like to be played around with especially by men.  Terry Bogard was on the top of that list.

Nobody knew what to say.  The mood had drifted from calm to unsettling.  Not a soul moved an inch.

"Men are such bastards," Mai threw in her two cents.  Mary raised her head to that.

"I hear you Mai," Mary added.

King gave a small grin.  Well, if something good were to come out of the situation, at least they were being friendlier to each other.

"Welcome to the Bogard women happy family," Mai stated.  "Membership is full time and it never expires."

Mary couldn't argue with that.  Mai definitely had the experience playing on her side.

"What about you two?  What's it like with Kyokugen men?"  Mai asked the other two women.

"What?!  Me?!  I – I don't know!"  King defended.

"She's been avoiding Ryo," Yuri inputted.

"I don't know what you see in that guy.  He's sloppy, and never combs his hair.  He's like a child," Mai stated.  King would normally let it slide but something came over her that she would never thought of doing two months ago.

"At least he has his hair cut instead of looking like a girl."

"Why you?!"  Mai shouted back.

"Alright Alright!  Take it easy you two!"  Yuri stepped in.  "I think we should call it a day."

Mary nodded.  King and Mai stared at each other for a few more seconds, neither one wanting to back down.  Yuri was the first to respond by taking Mai out of the bar.  King let out a final sigh and sat back down.

_What got over me?  What was I thinking?_  King pondered to herself.  Mary looked over at her with a more sympathetic expression.

"What do you think those guys fight for?"  Mary asked.  King didn't really know of anything that came to mind.

"I wonder if they know how hard it is just to fight for their attention."

King sighed.  She definitely knew that battle.  "It's hard to fight a battle without fists.  And the stakes are more than just physical."

Marry nodded.  "Want a ride back?"

King agreed.  They were going no where with this conversation and it was better if they ended it here than go too deep.  King would have other days to think.  Right now she had to train.

*          *          *          *          *

"I – I told you I didn't see him!"  Cried a thug.

"Jesus, just run you fool!"  Replied his friend.  They were both pretty beat up but they were lucky they could walk.

_Fools…_

The thugs didn't even have a chance.  A wave of purple like surrounded their bodies and threw them into an unforgiving wall.  They landed with a sickening thud.  The stranger who attacked them spit at the sight of their demise.

*          *          *          *          *

Night was creeping around the corner.  South Town was about to fall under a blanket of crime and mystery.  Just another phase in on going saga of life.

Terry Bogard was enjoying a nice drink in a nice environment.  The air was still crisp and the drinkers were still working their first or second rounds.  This was nice time to just relax and let the night blow over.

"Hey there good looking…  What's a cute guy like you looking glum for?"  Asked one of the bartenders.  He looked up at her and then to the other bartender to her right.  They were identical.  But the question was, which one of them said that?

"Hey Sally, don't you know who that is," said the twin on the right.

"No, who Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth whispered into her sister's ear.  Sally jumped back and held her hand over her dropped jaw.

"I am sooooooo sorry Mr. Bogard!"  Sally exclaimed.

"It's alright," Terry replied.  It could be a simple mistake.  He let his jacket and hat sit on the chair next to him.  Anyone who wasn't looking hard enough could have thought he was just a normal guy.

"So Terry, I heard you pulled a rabbit out of your hat last year," Elizabeth commented.  She was right.  He'd just barely got out of there.  He figured this one was the one who watched fighting and the other was the typical girl.

"There's a fine line between luck and skill."

Elizabeth licked her lips.  "Keep talking that way and I think you're going to be pretty lucky tonight.  I get off at 2 sweetie."

Terry chuckled.  Nothing too hard.  Just a couple of short bursts.  "Thanks for the offer but I've got other things on my mind tonight."

"Whenever you're up for it tiger…"  She winked.  Sally confronted her on the other side of the bar and began a verbal bashing.  Terry thought it was kind of funny though.  It was kind of hard to compare a wolf to a tiger.  Meh, philosophy wasn't on the agenda for tonight.  Tonight, Terry was just going to kick back and enjoy what was left of the day and worry about tomorrow…  Tomorrow.

A suited man just walked into the bar.  Terry's warning meter banged like a heavy metal band drum solo.  This was too coincidental.

Much to his surprise, the suit just blew right past Terry and approached two guys shooting pool.  They were fairly muscular with a hint of bourbon on their breath showing off their muscles by wearing a couple of tang tops.

The suit chatted with them for a few minutes.  Terry pretended to be uninterested but kept his glass at a certain position so he could check their actions.

More meaningless talking.  Meaningless only on paper.  Terry had no idea what they were saying because he couldn't read lips.  Then there was a break.

A photo the suit pulled out exchanged hands with the two pool players.  He didn't say another word and just walked out.  The threat was gone; it was time to see what these to guys were up to.

Terry made a break for the bathroom.  He made sure the guys didn't see him walk in.  If they wanted to talk in private, no better place that the porcelain throne.

Two guys walked into the bathroom.

_Jackpot!_

Terry hid himself in the only stall with his feet propped up.  Hopefully neither of them was going in there for number 2.

"Hey, you down?"

"Ah shit!  You better believe it."

"How much they say they payin'?"

"Two hundred g's my friend."

"Yea.  Word is this kid is worth ten times that."

_Ugh.  This was educational.  Who the hell would hire these guys for $200,000?_  Terry thought to himself.  _You'd think you'd have better things to spend your money on_.  South Town was a weird place but nothing compared to this.  Then again, if you really wanted to find someone, you'd hire any degenerate you could find.  There was always strength in numbers.

"You shittin' me?"

"Nah.  They say he is the son of some famous fighter and they only heir to his estate."

"For Real?"

"Hell yea!  And they say he's right here in South Town.  Someone's got him and there keeping him hidden."

"Cool.  You know where to start looking?"

"Nah.  But I know a guy who works in the underground ring.  He might know who's holding the kid if he's really the son of a famous fighter."

"Shit yea!  We're going to get paid."

"For real.  Let me just hit the john and we'll be out of here."

"Alright, see you in a minute bro."

"Later."

One left the bathroom.  Terry heard everything he needed to.  The unseen bathroom attendant headed for that stall.

*THWACK*

Terry ferociously kicked it open.  His foul-mouthed chatterbox was lying flat against the other wall.  Piece of cake.

"So buddy…  Tell me about this kid."

*          *          *          *          *

Terry left the bathroom whistling a tune as if he dropped a few pounds while in there.  No one really seemed to notice and he retook his seat in front of the bar.

"Nice kick tiger…"  Elizabeth noted.  Terry looked at her kind of cockeyed but then realized where this was going.

"I didn't think you'd want a camera in the bathroom.  Not with the kind of guys in this joint."

"It's for insurance purposes cutey.  Wouldn't want any unnecessary law-suits now would we?"  She winked again.  _This was getting old_ he thought.

"That camera of yours doesn't have a microphone now does it?"  Terry asked.  Elizabeth shook her head.

"Sorry handsome.  We can't afford the fancy stuff."

Terry stood up and threw his jacket and hat on.  A couple of guys looked up and stared at him as if he was a ghost.  Terry Bogard was sitting right under their noses and they didn't even notice.

"Well it looks like you have a toilet backing up…  Sorry I can't help you clean up but I've got things to do and people to see.  Maybe I'll take you up on your after hours bar one of these days."

"I'll be waiting," she blew him a kiss.  Terry was joking but he should have expected it.  He would have waved it off but his energy was needed elsewhere.  He left the bar and thought nothing of his idols.  Finally, a break in his search and he was going to put it to good use.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"KOUOUKEN!"  Ryo shouted.  It traveled a decent distance this time.  Maybe seven or eight feet before it dissipated.

Ryo spit.  He was getting pretty frustrated.  He'd been practicing nothing but the Kououken for 6 hours straight.  Both of his arms were starting to get numb but he kept at it.  He wanted to master this technique if it killed him.

"Ryo!"

"Yes sir!"

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean father?  I've been doing what you instructed."

"Ryo…"

He was right.  Ryo wasn't doing what he was told but it was so hard to change your style after you made it routine.

"I…  I just don't see how to control my intensity.  I…  I have nothing to focus on."

"That's not true Ryo.  Think about the things you that are close to your heart."

"That's easy.  It's you, Yuri, and Robert."

"That's a good start.  Now think about the time Yuri got kidnapped."

"I was pretty angry then."

"Excellent.  Now try your Kououken."

Ryo nodded.  He thought about the search, the fear, and the anger he felt against Mr. Big.  He was ready.

"KOUOUKEN!"

Ryo's blast traveled a great distance.  It almost went a full hundred yards before it went out.  His eyes glowed with a bright hope.  He'd made some progress.

"Very good Ryo.  Now do you understand the power of the Kououken?"

Ryo nodded.  This was a good start.

"Again!"

"Yes sir!"

Ryo thought about the pain Yuri must have felt while she was being captive.  All of the torment she was put through just for being known by Robert Garcia.  _All of that for just being a friend to someone rich?!_

"KOUOUKEN!"

The blast traveled quickly.  Takuma gave a positive grunt.  The distance easily doubled that of his previous attempt.

"Excellent Ryo.  The speed is equal to my own.  The size is still fairly smaller but you are improving over your last attempts."

A smile crossed Ryo's lips.  He never expected improvement like this in only a few minutes.  Things were going great.

"Alright Ryo.  Try one more time."

Ryo nodded.  He began charging a blast.  Another memory that crossed his mind was the search at the 'Illusions' bar.  He was very angry then.  He'd been searching for hours and not even a clue.  That's when he got into a fight.  A fight with – .

_King!_

"KOUOUKEN!"

Ryo looked forward.  He spat on the ground.  It was just like the Kououken he'd been doing for years.  What the hell was he thinking?

"Ryo!  What is the matter with you?"  Takuma asked, "What were you thinking?"

"I – I was doing as you said father but then…  Then something crossed my mind that threw me off guard."

"What was it?"

"It was the time I was searching for Yuri when she was kidnapped.  I walked into a bar looking for information."

"Did you get into a fight?"

"Yea.  But…?"

"What was it about the fight that turned your emotions?"

"I – I…  I fought a woman?"

"Ryo!"

"It's not what you think father!"

"Then clear my thoughts."

Ryo took a deep breath.  He didn't think it would be this hard to talk about this.

"King…"  He whispered.

"What was that?"

"It was King dad…  I…  I fought King and…"

"You didn't win?"

"Yea…"

"You looked fine when I fought you."

"You don't always win a battle with fists."

Takuma cracked a grin.  That was something he told Ryo when he was very little but then Ryo asked _So why do I learn karate?_  And Takuma replied _So you won't have to fight_.

"I see…  Well Ryo, you should keep your thoughts off that subject if you want to master the Kououken.  That is an order."

Ryo agreed.  It would be hard to focus with that on your mind.  Hopefully this training will end soon.  Maybe his dad would think it was ok to keep thoughts of her when he wasn't training.  There was no way he was going to ask now, he had a distance to beat and two weeks left to do it.

*          *          *          *          *

King laid on her bed.  She wasn't feeling one hundred percent and she had done nothing but relax and enjoy the day.  Well, that wasn't entirely true.  The incident at the bar wasn't all that relaxing.

_What am I doing?_

King had a pretty normal life for the past few years.  Her bar had its good days and its bad but there wasn't much stress.  Sure her brother Jean was still sick and she tried every year to win the prize money to give him treatment but she fell short every time.  She did save some money that she made from her bar.  About $5,000 or so but it wasn't enough for Jean's treatment.  He'd have to be taken to Tokyo and the treatment was $7,500 a month and she had no idea how long he needed to be in there.

The prize money from King of Fighters would easily cover that.  Even if it was split eight ways she could treat Jean and still have some left over to buy her building and rent out the apartments for some extra revenue.  Life would be good if she only got that chance.

She thought for a while.  Maybe she did have this chance.  She was fighting with another team; a team that actually made it to the finals once in a while.  With a little extra effort from her, they could win this thing.

King sprang up from her bed with all knew thoughts.  She needed to call her brother.  It wasn't exactly written in the books yet but King felt confident in the Kyokugen karate skills.

*          *          *          *          *

"Hello?"  Jean answered.  He was sitting at home watching some television.  There was something about another local beating that didn't really interest him.  The person on the other line however.

"Hey Jean!"

"Sis!  How's it going?"

"Not bad.  How are you?"

"Same old.  I have my good days and bad."

"I see.  Are Sally and Elizabeth taking good care of you?"

"Yea.  Don't worry about it.  I may be a little weak but I'm not a baby.  I've been off the bottle for months."

King laughed.  Jean was good at doing that.

"You're worried about something aren't you?"

King paused for a second.  "How – How did you know?"

"Well, usually you'd call me at 5 o'clock on the money.  It's almost eight thirty and you're still sitting around thinking your little thoughts."

"Yea…  Well, I kind of have some good news?"  That sounded off.

"Oh, has Ryo finally asked you out."

"WHAT?!  Jean knock it off!"

Jean started busting up.  He knew his sister's weak points.  She needed her blood to rise a point or two every now and then.

"Heh heh…  You're too easy King."

"So I hear.  Do you want to hear my news or not?"

Jean slowly drowned out his laughter.  "Sure thing sis, what's the good word?"

"I think this is the year."

"What?"

"I think this will be the year I'll actually win King of Fighters."

"Really?  What makes you so sure?  I never really hear stuff like this from you?"

"I – I don't know Jean.  This is the first time in years I've fought on another team and it just seem that – "

"That things are finally going your way?"

"What?"

"Come on sis.  I know how much of a hassle it must be to take care of me all these years."

"Wait Jean!"

"It's alright.  Sis.  It doesn't matter to me if you win King of Fighters or not.  I'm happy whether or not I'm healthy.  I've got a great sister who'd do things that most siblings would have abandoned me for and she's willing to do anything to make me happy."

"…"

"That's enough sis.  I'm tired of you always trying to make me happy without anything for yourself.  What do you want sis?  What will make you happy?  Whatever that is, I want it for you!"

King didn't have a response.  Her brother was a big part of her life and she would do anything for him.  It warmed her heart knowing that he's learned a few of her better qualities.  She smiled over the receiver and even though her brother couldn't see it, Jean knew it was there.

"Thanks Jean."

"I'm just doing what you've been doing for me for the last ten years."

"Take care ok?  I'll come see you again next week."

"Alright and bring Ryo with you.  I need to have a few words with that guy!"

"JEAN!"  King shouted.  Jean could feel the vessels popping on her face all the way through the receiver.

"Night sis."

"Good night Jean."

King hung up the receiver.  A sigh left her breath.  The night had totally consumed the sun and she was pretty much out of it now.

Her stomach rumbled.  It wasn't anything significant; she just had an urge to have a small snack.  She opened the refrigerator door and saw something she didn't expect.

_It's average._

She wanted to see two dozen chickens lined up in the freezer and nothing but milk and water to drink but it looked just like a normal refrigerator would.  Well, except for one small difference.

"What's this?"  King said to herself.  She reached in and pulled out a plat of mochi (rice cakes).  There was also a little note attached.

_For Ryo: HANDS OFF!_

King chuckled a bit.  _This must be Ryo's favorite snack_ she thought to be a little deceptive and decided to take one.  There were a bunch there; it wouldn't be like he would cry over it.

She took a bite.  _Hmm, not bad_.  Ryo must really enjoy these kinds of snacks after eating that protein broth that tasted like human sweat and sugar.  At least he has some taste.

King then wondered to herself how to improve the taste.  It was good, but not great.  After coming home from two weeks of training, Ryo deserved better.  _Maybe I can go to that shop a couple of blocks past the stadium _she thought.

_Oh shoot!  That shop closed and moved inside the stadium for King of Fighters_.  That was a bit of a disappointment.  She really wanted to do something nice for Ryo after all that he's done for her.

_Try cooking yourself stupid!!!_  Her inner voice beckoned.  _Cooking?  Me?  No way!!_

_Why not?_

_Because I can't cook!_

_That's not what Jean said…_

King remembers all of the time she spent cooking for Jean when they first moved to South Town.  She was real bad at first but after a while Jean wouldn't eat anything unless she made it.

_Fine…  You win_.  She may have been an excellent street and tournament fighter but there's no way you could win the battle of the mind.  Not physically anyways.

King located one of Yuri's aprons and put it on.  She had a little trouble fastening it, she wasn't really familiar with this kind of apron.  King turned and faced the reflection in the refrigerator.

She had a tiny blush.

King never really looked at herself like this before.  So feminine, so womanly, so…  Beautiful.

_No!  No!  No!_  She screamed at herself.  She hated men!  Men treated her like garbage.  They don't care about her wants, her needs, and her feelings.

_Not Ryo…_

True.  Ryo hadn't done any of those things and even when they first met he was extremely apologetic.  He took care of her in her weakest moment and for the longest time he'd been a great friend.

_Friends don't make you blush…_

_Oh shut up!_  She cried to herself.  She didn't have time think.  Mochi needed to be prepared and she was going to do it whether or not it killed her.  She went at it with a passion almost equaling hers of fighting.  And she did it with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Note:  Well Chapter 4 is wrapped up and I've already started on Chapter 5.  That is when the story will really get cooking.  Speaking of which, King…  Cooking?  I know it seems a bit far fetched for those hardcore KOF fans but I think she would do something that's a little off her character if it were for Ryo.

Story Note:

- Jean, King's younger brother:  I have no idea what type of illness Jean had, they never really said specifics in anything I read.  I naturally took it as a physical sickness that made him really weak.  Nothing too fatal but something that would keep him from going out and living a normal life.  Also, his name is (I believe) pronounced just like Jean Claude Van Damme.

- Sally and Elizabeth:  Again, I'm not sure what kind of personalities each of them had since they were only used in background information.  I gave them personalities like the sweet girly sister (Sally) and the more sexual desiring (Elizabeth).  If I'm wrong on this I won't change it but I'd like to know for future reference.

Anyways, there's a special guest coming in the next chapter that will change the relationship of two characters.  I'm really taking off on this fic and only your reviews will help me roll out chapters faster.  Take it easy guys and I'll see you next chapter.

P.S.:  I found out that I turned on 'Block Reviews from Anonymous Users'.  I know, stupid stupid me!  So those who tried, my apologies.)


	6. Chapter 5: Wolf vs Demon Strongest Huma...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 5:  Wolf vs. Demon / Strongest Human Muscle**

_3 Weeks Left Until the King of Fighters Tournament_

Mary sighed at the sight before her.  For the last week Terry had been avoiding her and yet there he lay like a child who is free of all carnal thoughts and just lives life like there was no tomorrow.

Life wasn't that simple.

She was pissed.  She was _very_ pissed.  Terry played her around last week during dinner and now she hasn't seen him for a whole week.  He just picked and chose where and when he went.  He'd sneak in late at night and leave just before Mary got up.  She would have figured he had somewhere else to stay but there was always a fresh bag of fast food garbage sitting in her bin.  She wasn't going to take it anymore.

"WAKE…"  She screamed grabbing a nearby pillow, "UP!"

Terry Bogard woke up to the high speed bundle of feathers colliding with his skull.  Judging by the recent action his internal clock was set on snooze.  He didn't even know where to begin to get out of this jam.

Mary stared down at him like an angry school teacher.  Terry didn't have much experience attending school but he knew female anger when he saw it.

"Well…  Good morning," Terry said.  _Alright, take it slow_.

"So Terry…  How are you?"  _That bastard!_

"Other than that fabric assault I'm doing good."  _So far so good anyways_.

"Is that so…  So can you explain this to me?!"  Mary replied tossing a bunch of photos onto her coffee table.  Terry picked them up and started identifying them.

_So?  She's been following me ever since_ Terry thought.  He scanned through the photos.  There were a few of them when he was beating up some thugs behind the grocery store.  Then there was the bouncer at one of the bars (he used to be a fighter in the underground circuit).  And the rest were just lost cause battles.

Terry put the photos down and looked at Mary.  He had never seen her this upset in the entire time they've known each other.

"Mary…  This is none of – "

"Don't tell me it's none of my business Terry!  I've been waiting for you for so long and now you tell me it's none of my business!"

"Don't take this the wrong way."

"What do mean wrong way?!"  She screamed back.  Veins were beginning to protrude from her forehead, "I finally see you again for so long and even though I was really happy, you compromised my mission!  Instead of telling you it's none of your business you had to _sweet talk_ me with your _ever so loving charm_ that there was basically nothing I could do without you looking over my shoulder!"  Mary vented.  The last bit came out with the ever so obvious hint of sarcasm.

Terry couldn't say anything.  If this was a fist fight he'd say something to distract his opponent and them catch them off guard with a quick attack.  That didn't work in a verbal fight.

"Tell me Terry, what do I have to do to get involved?!"  She pleaded.  "Aren't I your friend?"

Terry wanted to nod but he thought it was best to just let Mary vent the rest of it out of her system.

"What do I have to do to get inside Terry?  What do I have to do for you to trust me?"

Terry rose from his seat.  He reorganized his hat and picked up his bag and then looked Mary dead in the eyes.

"I trust you Mary.  I trust you with my life.  You are one of my best friends.  That is why I cannot let you help me."

Mary watched him closely.  She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Isn't there anything I could – "

"The more you know….  The more you are in danger.  Stay out of it."

Terry opened Mary's door but paused before leave.  He didn't even turn to face her.

"This'll be the last time I come here."

And then he was gone.  She didn't know what to say, what to feel, or what to think.  All she could do is stand there and watch a big part of her life take off without any regard of her emotions at all.

Mary grabbed the pillow she threw at him.  She felt it shrink in her arm and then she tossed it against the door.  Terry's last known whereabouts.

"JERK!"

She couldn't take it anymore.  Mary collapsed on her knees with her head bent down staring at her hard wood floor.  Her vision started to get a bit blurry.  She hadn't done this since…  Since…

_Butch…_

*          *          *          *          *

The wind was calm.  The deep interior of the forest whistled a muffled tune.  Only those with an ear for mother earth would care for such matters.  This guy definitely wasn't one of them.

"SCREW UPPER!!!!"

The forest's moment of tranquility was waved away in a tornado of destruction.  Joe looked at his self-made natural disaster.  He laughed away at the sight marveling at his phenomenal strength.

"Hey Andy.  Check it out!"  Joe roared, "I guess now those movie producers would decide to save a few bucks on special effects eh?"

Andy looked on with a negating sigh.  He had practically begged Joe to take training seriously and yet here he was still goofing off.  Although, the size of it was pretty impressive, boasting wasn't a part of training.  It was a part of winning.

They both left the forest after another few minutes of Joe's bragging.  Suddenly the forest wasn't as nice as it once was.

"Andy, let's go grab some lunch.  My calorie count is almost equal to my loss record!"

"Then you should be plenty satisfied," Andy calmly replied without a hint of emotion.  Joe raised his fist to strike but knew that would really get him no where.  He didn't have the energy left to fight.  That was before he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"Andy!"

Andy quickly turned and swayed the flying objects.  He kept a serious look on his brow hoping to find the would be attack but that soon dropped when he saw who'd thrown it.

"Oh no…"

"Hi Andyyyyyy…"  Mai cheerily stated.  Andy knew she repressed her anger this way and just thought that it would be better to ride the boat that to travel upstream.

"Well hello their little lady, what's your name?"  Joe asked with his famous grin.

Mai, like Andy, also had some company.  "Kasumi, don't pay any attention to him."

"Hey Mai, don't be such a stick in the mud.  Introduce me to your attractive companion," Joe begged.  He reached out and touched her on the shoulder.  Bad move.

Kasumi grabbed Joe's arm and flung him clear across the pass.  Joe's body crashed into the combination of dirt, leaves, and grass as his skidded body absorbed all of the colors of nature.

"OWWWW!"  He screamed.  "You have a funny way of saying hello!"

"She's SIXTEEN!"  Mai shouted back.  "That would have been a felony."

Joe got up and dusted himself off.  That would have looked marvelous on a headline:

_Famous Kick boxer is Also a Pedophile!_

_The masses would have field day!_

"What are you doing here Andy?"  Mai playfully asked.

_Something's not right._  "You know what I'm doing Mai."

"Yea, your right."

_What?_  "So, is there…  Is there something that you need from me?"  Andy asked.

"Oh nothing…  I just wanted to remind you about…  You know?"

Andy flustered.  He'd just gotten that image out of his mind and now this.  His training was surely going to be taken off course after this.

"Ye – Yea Mai…  I have."  A plan suddenly shot into Andy's brain.  He took Mai by the hand and gazed deeply into her beautiful brown eyes.

"A – Andy."

"I promise that I will make this up to you," he said while kissing her hand.

Mai blushed.  Worse than she ever had in her life.  This even tops the day she first met him.

"I – I – I…"  Mai was stuttering.

Andy put her hands down.  "I promise I'll make this up to you right after the tournament.  But for now, I need to train."

Mai nodded.  It was all she could do.

"Alright then.  Here's something that will tide you over until then."

Andy leaned over and pecked Mai on the cheek.  She was as frozen as the land in Antarctica.

"Till then…"

Maid nodded and started to back away not wanting to take her eyes off of his.  His radiant smiled glowed a marvelous light that shined on her world.  She had found bliss.

"Hey Andy…  Pretty slick.  When did you grow some – "

Andy let out a great big sigh as if he was holding his breath for three days.

"Yo man.  What's wrong with you?"

"I can't believe I just did that."

"What?!  Were you just pulling Mai's leg?!"

"I didn't mean to hurt her.  I just really wanted to focus from now until King of Fighters.  I'll deal with Mai later."

Joe laughed and patted his less charismatic friend on the back.  "Alright man.  You just watch it though.  You're starting to sound a lot like another Bogard I know."

Andy chuckled.  It'd been a while since he laughed.  Almost a year in fact.  A genuine smile crossed his lips right before he was struck in the face.

Joe started rolling on the ground in hysteria.  He just caught a glimpse of Mai in her angered look right before she tossed her fan.

Mai stared down at Andy giving him a glare that read _'Why you little'!_  Andy was right back to where he started.

Andy took the fan that struck his face.  He opened it up and read the contents.

YOU ARE MINE!

Andy cringed and closed the fan.  He looked over at her and she had a little more of a light-hearted look but still pretty mad.  She grabbed Kasumi and took off in the direction she came from.

Joe was still on the ground not getting over the past sight.  "Oh – Oh man!  That was great!  My stomach got a great workout Andy.  Thanks!"

No response followed.  So much for his day.  He wondered what his brother would do in this kind of situation.

*          *          *          *          *

"I've finally found you!"  Terry screamed.  His body was exhausted.  Mostly due to the fact that he ran clear across town from a faintly reliable tip.

The man Terry was talking about could barely be seen under the cover of darkness.  His jacket was camouflaged by the night and seemed to reflect a certain orbital object.  The man turned around, his crimson hair radiated the color of blood as did his pants which happened to be tied together by a leather strap.

"Yagami…  So you're the one."

Iori Yagami.  Decendent of the Yagami-style Ancient Martial Arts.  He had a mean streak following him ever since the end of the King of Fighters '97 tournament.  The Orochi blood must still be strong in his system.

"Bogard."

Terry had fought Iori just before the sewers collapsed in the last tournament.  He was searching for Kyo Kusanagi.

_Or course!  It all makes sense now!_  Terry had been searching for the wrong man.  Iori wanted to find Kusanagi and he tore up the streets of South Town just like he did the sewers.  Kain and Iori used purple projectile attacks.

_Damnit!  All that time wasted!  How could I have gotten that confused?!_

"Where is Kyo?"

Terry honestly didn't know.  Iori might just walk away but given his mean streak it might not be so easy.  He might just have to do things the hard way.

"You know damn well that I don't know where he is."

Silence.  Iori didn't say anything nor did he move an inch.  "Where is Kyo?"

This wasn't going anywhere but the streets.  Terry felt he had to do something or else he'd end up like all the other victims.  _Kill or be killed!_

"POWER WAVE!"

"Dark Thrust."

The collision of orange ki and purple fire lit up the back alley.  They exploded in a giant solid colored rainbow and sprinkled fragments into the air.  Ori countered Terry's attack with minimal effort.

"Why have you been tearing up the city?!"  Terry asked.

"Much like tonight, I wasn't the first one to provoke," Iori said while dashing towards Terry.

_Shit!  He would have just walked away!  Damnit, no choice but to fight now_.

Their last match ended in a draw.  Someone was going to walk away a winner tonight.

Iori slashed his arm at Terry.  He remembers the knife edge slashes Iori uses and they aren't fun to be on the receiving end.  Terry stepped aside from the attack and delivered one of his own.

His fist was blocked.  Iori bounced it off like a rubber ball and went low.  Terry easily saw it coming and knew he was going to have an attack of opportunity.

Iori drop-kicked at Terry.  His foot barely grazed Terry's sneakers as the South Town veteran was already airborne.

"Power!"

Iori didn't have time to react.  He just barely finished sweeping at Terry and here he came with the first attack of the night.

"DUNK!"

Orange ki and Terry's fist smashed into Iori's face.  His head and body bounced of the concrete like a stuffed doll and rolled all the way to the back of the alley.  This was the only place he could regroup and keep a good distance between him and Terry.

Iori rose from his fallen state.  He was mad.  Terry hit almost as hard as Kyo did.  He knew Terry's strength since he tested him in the sewers but neither of them was going all out.  They didn't have enough time.  Well, now there's plenty of time and lots of room.  They were going to finish one way or another.

Iori charged at Terry with a new glow in his eyes.  Terry thought better that to go for the same attack so he prepared to block high.

Terry's stomach exploded in pain.  Iori started with a single uppercut to the midsection and followed up with another.  Terry was airborne wrenching in agony.  He wasn't going to have time to recover.

His body was smashed by Iori's double axe handle blow right in the sternum.  Terry collapsed into a pile of rubble but Iori didn't let up.  He grabbed Terry by the head and raised him from the rubbish.

Terry's body was beginning to get warmer.  He could feel the outside of his clothes begin to light on fire.  _This isn't good_.  
  


Iori's arm wanted to scream bloody murder.  Terry had grabbed Iori's arm with both of his hands and smashed his knee into his elbow.  Iori had to drop Terry but left a part of his body wide open.

Spit shot out from Iori's mouth.  Terry delivered a massive kick to his midsection that almost knocked the wind out of him.  His body jittered with the shock of the attack.

"CRACK SHOT!"

A heel drove into Iori's face.  He didn't expect a follow up like that.  Underestimating his opponent could have contributed to his conclusion.  There was no way Iori was going to let Terry get away with this.

Terry stood firm with his fists tight.  He knew it would take more that that to put down Iori Yagami.  It would just take a matter of time before they would test their real strengths.

Iori dove and Terry and went for a downward slash.  Terry took a step back as Iori's viscous cut nearly put a scar on Terry's chest.  Iori took the initiative and went for an uppercut slash that connected and there was a trail of blood to prove it.

"ARGH!"  Terry screamed but he didn't have time to pant and tend the wound.  Iori was getting in too close and he had to send him back.

"Burn Knuckle!"

Too late.  Iori saw it coming and easily blocked it.  The shock sent him back several feet but no immediate damage sustained.

_Damnit!_  Terry screamed in his mind.  Yagami was tough but he never suspected him to be this tough.

Iori never let up.  He jumped up at Terry and threw his leg hoping to take the Legendary Wolf's head off.  Terry swayed away but the relentless Iori came out swing.

Strike after strike.  Hit after hit.  Iori was a monster.  He never even showed signed of fatigue.  Terry managed to block and avoid most of Iori's cuts but there were those deadly few that found their way to his soft points.

There was no way Terry was going to win this on defense.  He was going to have to wait for Iori to open himself up.

Iori spun Terry around and grabbed his back.  Terry remembered this move.  Iori would wind up a viscous slash to his opponent's back and that didn't sound good to Terry.  His eyes starting glowing as he prepared to counter and attack.

Surprise struck Iori for the first time in ages.  Terry had caught his arm and spun him around.  _An amateurish attempt_ he thought since Bogard never followed up with anything.  Iori turned around to face his opponent but he was about to get surprised again as Terry's fist just smashed the ground.

"POWER GEYSER!"

"ARRRRH!"  Iori screamed.  The pool of energy shot him back into an unforgiving wall.  His body made an impression that the building owner wouldn't like seeing in the morning.  Iori then flopped to the ground into a pile of debris and garbage.  He didn't move.

Terry clutched his chest.  There was really no time to celebrate.  Blood began to seep out and he could feel every drop.  He was glad the fight was over.

"ERRAGH…"  Iori mumbled from the waste heap.  He was no longer sitting in a pile of filth but standing strong as if he were fresh from a year's rest.  Terry must have been holding his wound longer than he thought.

Iori's hands crossed above his head.  Purple fire began swarming around him and his eyes spoke to Terry telling him that there was no way he was going to walk away after tonight.

Terry tried to stand up but his would kept him closed and tight.  Iori charged forward.  _Is this the end of the Lone Wolf?_

Pain.  Nothing but pain filled Terry's brain.  He was being mugged by someone without weapons.  Iori slashed and slashed and slashed until Bogard could barely stand on his own strength.

Iori grabbed the weak Terry and slammed him to the concrete.  He started pumping purple flame into his body hoping to melt his internal organs.  The fight was over.

Terry rolled to the opposite side of the alley.  That was the remainder of his strength.  All his body could do is breathe which was the only thing keeping him alive for now.

Iori approached Terry's prone body.  He wasn't finished yet.  Iori was way too pissed off to let him go easy now.  He'd put an end to the _Legendary Wolf_ and write his fate in stone.  A tombstone.

His wish was short lived however.  He got blind-sighted by someone who was going to join Terry in his demise.

Terry lifted his head with all of his extra might to see what was going on.  Every part of his body was wrecked with cuts and his blood was staining the alley.  He opened his one good eye and caught something he thought he'd never see.

_Mary…?_

Blue Mary tackled Iori and locked him in an arm bar.  She pulled until she heard a crack.

"RAARGH!"  Iori screamed.  His left arm was screaming along with him.  He saw who his assailant was and quickly caught the blonde hair.

_Brother Bogard!_  Iori thought to himself and snapped his body up with Mary still attached to his arm.  Flame collected all around his body as he spun up from the ground and shot his assailant into a wall.

"AAAAHHHH!"  Mary screamed.  Her body flopped into another alley wall and remained motionless.

_A woman scream?_  Iori thought to himself.  His assumption of it being the younger Bogard brother was off.  The anger began to subside within him.  He had enough.

"IWOKENNNNN!"  Terry screamed.

_How the?_  Iori thought.  He heard Terry's voice but still was frozen at the sound.

Terry couldn't believe what he just did.  Iori tossed Blue Mary like a rag doll and that was unforgivable.  He mustered all of the strength he would ever have in the next ten years and dashed at Iori.

"KAAAH!"  Iori spat.  Blood replaced saliva.  This version of the _Burn Knuckle_ was the strongest he ever felt.

"BUSTER WOLFFFFF!"

Iori's body took the full blast.  He was launched into another alley wall.  His body crashed to the ground along with a few chunks of bricks.  There was no way the heir of the Yagami Martial Arts was going to fight back now.

Terry collapsed.  Blackness swelled his vision.  If he was going to see the light, there couldn't be a better time.

Mary shook her head.  The blow was stronger than she ever expected but she didn't feel permanently injured.  She looked over at the sight and saw Iori was gone and Terry was in the center of the alley.  Fallen and bleeding.

"TERRY!"  She screamed.  She quickly ran over to him and held him in her arms.  There was blood everyone.

"Terry!  TERRYYYY!"

His breathing was erratic.  It sounded more like a static television followed by several coughs.

Tears streaked down Mary's eyes.  She didn't want to see this.  She couldn't believe this was happening.

Iori got up from his brick resting place.  His body was riddled with pain in places he never thought could be injured.  He limped forward and saw Mary holding Terry.

He walked away.

Mary squeezed Terry tight.  She didn't want to see him like this.  Even after the whole fiasco over the last week.  He didn't deserve this.  He kept her out of his business to protect her from this.

_FROM THIS!!!_  She shouted at herself.  She felt so stupid.  Terry was right all along and he might not be around to hear her apology.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King emerged into the kitchen after her morning shower.  It was quite in here as usual.  Even though it was a Sunday and no training took place on Sundays, just the fact that she was alone in an unfamiliar house was enough to make her uncomfortable.

It would be this way for another week.  Takuma and Ryo were halfway through their mountain training and she really couldn't wait for them to get back.  Sure the training was tough, the toughest training she had ever had in her life but it was the little things that she missed.  Kkushnood wasn't exactly the best person to talk with.  He'd enter prepared to train and he'd leave after it was time.

_What about Ryo?_

_Oh shut up you_ King beckoned at her inner voice.  It had been bugging her for the last week and she didn't know what to do to silence it.  She'd admit it though.  She did miss him but it's not like she depends on him for anything major.

_But you'd like to…_

_Silence!_  She screamed at her inner voice.  The longer she thought about anything, the more her inner voice butted in.  Of course she'd depended on Ryo for all kinds of things but nothing more than what friends would do for other friends.

_But you cooked for him…_

_Hey!  Friends can cook for friends!  It's not a crime or anything!_  She shouted back.

_Yea but how many friends have you cooked for before?  I don't remember you cooking for Mai, Kasumi, Yuri, or Xangfei._

_So what?!  I don't cook for girls._

_Says the one who used to pretend to be a guy._

She was stuck.  She hated to fight these mental battles because she couldn't physically do anything about it.  And as far as she was concerned she was still a white belt in that degree of fighting.

"Good morning King," called a voice from the front door.  She had been to caught up in her own personal battle to notice.

_Well finish this later…_  Her inner voice stated.

She looked over at the open front door and there was a surprise.

"Master Takuma?!"  She calmly asked while bowing.  She kind of had a habit of doing that ever since she started her training.

"How is everything?"

"Fine sir," she replied.  She looked past him hoping to see another familiar face without making it look obvious.

"If you're wondering where Ryo is, he's still training.  He has another week to go."

"Oh," King sighed.  _Well, can't have everything good at once_.

"How did it go sir?  You're back early."  She asked.

"Very well.  I left to let Ryo train in peace.  It is the only way he can overcome his little challenges but other than that, Ryo is showing great improvement."

She smiled.  She was happy to hear that.  Finally, he'd be able to advance a step or two without having to worry about everyone else beneath him.

"Speaking of which," Takuma noted while grabbing a glass of water, "Could you tell me what happened between the two of you the day you met?"

_What did that have to do with training?_  She pondered.  Nevertheless, she began to tell him the entire story.  Some parts in excessive detail and others with an embarrassed blush.  She didn't realize how weird it must have been for both of them.  They fought like enemies and now they were great friends

Takuma nodded.  He'd heard Ryo's version of the story up in the mountains but not in as much detail as King gave.  This didn't surprise him one bit.

"I see…"

"Why did you want to know about that?"  She asked neglecting the sir; she felt she would drown it out as long as they weren't training.

Takuma wondered what telling her about Ryo's setbacks would do to her self esteem.  It might be best just to tell her because how will they go anywhere without knowing.

"Ryo was having problems on the first day.  I asked him what was wrong and he told me that your story was on his mind."

_WHAT?!_  She shouted to herself.  Her facial expression told everything that Takuma needed to hear.

"W – What?"

"Don't worry King.  He needs to improve his muscle strength.  This will help."

_Muscle strength?_  Ryo looked buff enough from King's eyes.  "What do you mean muscle strength?  Ryo is pretty strong."

Takuma laughed.  Not just a regular chuckle but a full gut busting reaction.  He hadn't heard such a girly answer since…  Since…  Since his wife.

King was feeling pretty embarrassed.  She had no idea what made Takuma laugh so hard.  She wanted answers but was afraid of the results.

Takuma stopped laughing.  He'd had his fun.  "King.  What is the strongest muscle in the human body?"

King knew what he was talking about but didn't think it was the right answer.  Could the master of Kyokugen Karate be into things other than fighting?

"The…  The heart," she stated.

"Correct.  And it is the only muscle that can be exercised two different ways."

"Two ways?"  She didn't know what he was talking about.  Did he mean cardio exercise and another form of training?  She was lost.

"Yes.  Physical and psychological."

"Psychological?"  She pondered.

"Yes," Takuma nodded while downing his glass of water.  "It is the hardest exercise in life."

King didn't have a response.  She didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry," Takuma patted King on the shoulder, "He'll come around."

She couldn't hide her blush.  He could have meant it any way but she took the most personal one.  Takuma smiled at the sight.  His son had made quite a choice.

*          *          *          *          *

"KOUOUKEN!"  Ryo shouted.  His fireball was superb.  Its speed, size, and color equaled that of his father's and he couldn't be happier.

"YES!"  He shouted into the mountain range.  A week went by and he was feeling stronger than he ever was.  Progress never tasted so sweet.

He should have expected it though.  It's not like he got the chance to train this hard every day.  He could now move on to his next challenge.

Ryo decided to take a break.  The sun was setting and there wasn't much he could do in the mountains without electricity.  He went inside his tent and reached for his food supply.  Another lonely night in a quite place.

*          *          *          *          *

"Thanks for all your help," King said.  She was nested inside her bar with Sally and Elizabeth with only a few more minutes left before they opened.

"No problem King.  I could use the extra hours," Sally replied.

"Yea, she's trying to save up for a trip with her dream man," Elizabeth added.

Sally blushed while King chuckled.  "That's not it!"  She screamed in her defense.  King was preparing to leave just before Elizabeth opened her big mouth.

"You know we had a special visitor here the other day…"  Elizabeth said with a smirk.

"Oh really, who?"  King inquired.

"A certain blonde-haired gentleman who is pretty famous around King of Fighters."

_Ryo?  It couldn't be_ King thought to herself.

"Yea, he was really cute.  Much cuter in person!"  Sally added.

_That sounds like Ryo.  But I thought he was training?_  King thought.  "Oh really?  What was he doing?"

"You know, the usual things guys do.  Hit on me," Elizabeth winked.  King's face flustered.  She couldn't believe that Ryo was sneaking late at night to have drinks at her bar when he knows she's not going to be there.

"THAT JERK!"

*          *          *          *          *

"Achoo!"  Ryo sneezed.  He started rubbing his shoulders together making sure the temperature wasn't too chilly for his taste.  It passed.

_Maybe I'm catching a cold…_

*          *          *          *          *

"Elizabeth, Terry never hit on you…"  Sally noted.

"SHHH!!!"  Elizabeth said.

"Terry?  Terry Bogard!"  King stated.

"Yea.  Who do you think we were talking about?"  Sally asked.

"Ryo Sakazaki," Elizabeth answered.

"Oh shut up!"  King ordered.  _Why is everyone picking on me recently?_

"Come on King sweetheart.  You need to learn to lighten up," Elizabeth added.

King sighed.  She was right.

"Alright, but listen I've got to – "

*CRASH*

"What the?"  All three said surprised.  They quickly bolted outside to see what was going on.

Around the corner in the back alley there was a fight going on.  King instantly noticed one of the fighters.

_Terry?_

"Oh my god.  What should we do?!"  Sally asked in a fit of excitement.  She couldn't help it though.  The guy who was sitting and talking to her in the bar just a week ago was now bleeding in a pile of trash.

"Get inside!"  King ordered.  It was the smart thing to do.  Getting involved would only make it worse.

The first thing King did when she went inside was grab a phone.  She picked up her black book and began dialing a number in her _'Female Fighters Team'_ section.

*          *          *          *          *

"Hello?"  Came a rather low and sad voice on the other side of the receiver.

"Mary!  This is King.  You've got to get down here quick!"

"Why?  What's wrong?"  Mary asked still not fully grasping the situation.

"It's Terry!  He's in a fight and it doesn't look good!"

Mary dropped the receiver and left her apartment.

*          *          *          *          *

"King, why did you call your friend?  It would have been smarter to call the police," Sally noted.

"Think about it.  If Terry got arrested then he'd be disqualified from King of Fighters."

"Why not?  That would be great for you!  You'd definitely win then," Sally commented.

King hadn't thought of that.  Without Terry and his team, her chances would have greatly improved.

_No!  That's not important.  Someone's in trouble and he needed help._

King walked outside putting on her fighting gloves.

"Wait King!  You don't know what you're up against!"  Sally pleaded.  It was too late, before she knew it, King was gone.

*          *          *          *          *

Orange ki filled the back alley.  King shielded her eyes from the light show.  Terry's opponent hit the wall of the next door apartment complex and fell into a pile of garbage.

King sighed.  _Good.  Nothing else to worry about._  She looked over at Terry and watched him stay kneeling against the concrete; blood was still coming out of his chest.

_Oh no!  Terry…  I've got to _- and before she could step into the alley she saw his opponent rise from the debris.

_Iori Yagami?!  Why was Terry fighting him?!_

No time to ask.  She rolled up her sleeves and went forward.  Another hand caught her shoulder preventing her from entering the fight.

"Mary!"

"Hold it King!"  Mary ordered.  "Here take this number," she said while handing King a slip of paper.  "If I'm not back in five minutes, call Andy and Joe!"

"No way!  I'm calling them now!"  King stated.

"Don't!  I don't want them to get involved if they don't have to.  Now get inside, this could get ugly."

King nodded while still holding a little bit of defiance.  She ran into her bar counting the seconds.

Mary turned around and her eyes began to fill with shock.  Terry was being pummeled and he needed her help now.

*          *          *          *          *

"How's he doing?"  Sally asked.

Terry sat in the back room of the '_Illusions_' bar wrapped in bandages.  His breathing was still weak but the bleeding stopped, that was the good news.

"He's lost a lot of blood.  Nothing immediately fatal though," Mary responded.

"We should take him to a hospital!  He's only going to get worse laying there!"  Sally pleaded.  Elizabeth shook her head.

"Doctors ask questions," she added.

King agreed.  "Mary, we did all we could.  The first aid kit isn't going to hold him over for the night."

Mary nodded.  "I'll take him back to my place.  I've got some stuff there that can be used for this situation if it ever came up."

"I'll go with you," King added.

Mary agreed.

"Take my car.  There's no way all of you are going to fit on a bike," Elizabeth said.  King took her keys and helped pick Terry up.  This was turning out to be a long night.

*          *          *          *          *

King and Mary placed Terry on her bed.  He rested there peacefully for now but there was no telling how he was feeling inside.

"Thank you King," Mary stated.  "Thanks for all of your help."

"Think nothing of it," King replied.  "Is there anything you need?"

Mary shook her head.  She just stared at Terry remembering the sight she saw and how he was being slaughtered.  That same sick feeling began filling into her heart and tears swam in her eyes.

"IDIOT!"  She screamed, hoping it would wake him up.  No such luck however.

Mary wrapped her arms around King and began to cry.  She cried long and hard.

"M – Mary…"

King didn't know what to say.  She never was in a situation like this.  Here was a girl who was strong enough to take out half of South Town if she felt yet here she stood pouring her eyes out.

Mary felt King's arms tighten around her.  It felt good for a second but then the pain came back.  She wasn't going to get over this.  Not tonight anyhow.

*          *          *          *          *

"If there's anything you need or if you even want to talk, give me a call," said King in the apartment hallway.

Mary nodded while whipping away a few of her tears remaining tears.  The door slowly shut and that was the end of that.

King let out a big sigh.  Then she started thinking about her current situation.

_If that's the second way to exercise your heart…  I want no part in it!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  Oh!  Suspense!  Terry's injured.  Mary's Crying.  King giving up men…  Again.  Wow this is shaping up to be a pretty good story.  I'm happy, how about you guys?  Now I know I've been consistent on updating the story but I've got some bad news.  I'll be going back home for the weekend and my parents don't have internet access so Chapter 6 won't up uploaded until Monday (If I finish it by then).  I've got finals on Monday and that's all.  I'll have a whole week to myself before I go back to work and my goal is 2 Chapters every 3 days so maybe I'll finish the fic before the middle of June.  Thanks for the reviews guys.  Keep them coming and hopefully I'll see you next chapter.

Story Notes:

- Differing Story Points:  For those of you that are confused, both sides of the fic take place on the same day.  "~~~~~"  These separate the Fatal Fury Point of View from the Art of Fighting Point of view.  This chapter is a good culmination of this point as both sides ended together at the same point even though they started at parts of the story.  Sorry about the confusion but I got a few emails about this and I wanted to clear things up.

P.S.:  I hope I wrote Iori's character right.  I'm not a big fan of his work or his character.  He's still pretty cool though, that's why I put him in this fic.)


	7. Chapter 6: Worth Fighting For Emotional...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 6:  Worth Fighting For / Emotional Workout**

_2 Weeks Until the King of Fighters Tournament_

The air was crisp; cool even.  Not a single distinguishable smell in the distance.  A small breeze entered through the window.  The surrounding area was calm and an overall feeling of serenity blanketed the perception.  This was a wonderful place to be.

Terry opened his eyes.  It hurt.  The contacting air brushed against his pupils for the first time in a long time.  He let out a sigh.  That hurt too.  Movement also proved to be painful.  His strength was nearly depleted and he felt like he'd just woke up from a long nap after losing a fight with a bulldozer.

_A fight…  MARY!_

Terry sprang up from his bed.  Bad move.  His body cringed at the sudden action and he made a mental not to do it again.  After the pain subsided, he started looked around the room.

_This is Mary's apartment._

He remembered the last time he was in here and he swore never to come here again.  That was short lived.  The place was quite but he could swear he heard the sound of boiling water in the room ahead.  Moving wasn't an option.  It hurt to do anything but lay there and even that was a test of his endurance.

Terry checked out his body.  There were bandages everywhere.  His jacket, hat, and glove sat on a chair.  There were no signs of any damage.

_Was that a dream?_  Terry thought.  He heard footsteps coming towards the door and it immediately swung open.

Mary looked inside and saw that Terry was up and awake.

Silence.

The mood was definitely uncomfortable for both sides.  Terry looked her in the eyes and saw the feelings boil up inside her.

"Oh…  Y – You're up."

Ok, not exactly the best way to break the ice but there wasn't anything else they could do or say to make it any easier.  She wanted to grab him and squeeze him until her arms fell off but the reality was that he was still injured.  She also wanted to talk with him about how stupid he was for doing what he was doing but that's something that he wouldn't want to hear while recuperating.

"I'll – I'll be right back," she said while closing the door.  Terry was still a little jittered.  The atmosphere was just too weird.

Before long, Mary walked in with bedroom eating tray and a bowl of soup still steaming indicating its freshness.

"Here, eat this…"  She said.  She placed the tray over Terry.  "You're probably very hungry."

Terry didn't say anything.  His stomach was growling but it was his mind that was hungry.  He slowly started to consume the stew, keeping the pain to a minimum.  Mary watched carefully.  She could see the pain in his eyes after each movement.

"I'll…  I'll be back in a little bit."

Mary shut the door behind her and leaned against it.  She let out a sigh and thanked the gods above for waking him up.

*RIIIIIING*

The telephone screamed as hard as it could.  Mary reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

_It was King…_

"Hey, how's it going?"

_She seemed out of it._

"Real good actually.  He just woke up."

_Wow…  I didn't expect her to be that excited._

"Yea I know…"

_I wonder if she's ok over there.  She seemed to calm down now._

"No.  We – We haven't really talked yet."

_She's so considerate._

"No.  I'm fine for now.  I'll call you later today if anything else happens."

_She's such a good friend._

"Alright.  Take care King."

*CLICK*

Mary hung up the phone.  King had been so helpful over the week.  She'd come over to watch Terry at night when Mary went out to gather information and even bought the materials Mary needed to sew Terry's clothes back together.  Mary was very grateful to her.

It was quite over in the bedroom.  _Terry must be finished_ Mary thought to herself and slowly walked in.

Her intuition is correct.  Terry's bowl was empty.  She reached over to pick it up but Terry grabbed her hand.

"Ah!"  Mary snapped.  That caught her off guard.  Terry's had wasn't it, it was still fairly weak but his speed was phenomenal.

Terry let go.  He didn't know what to say but maybe she'd get the message that he didn't want her to leave.

Mary looked at Terry's eyes.  They were shallow and almost closed together.  His lips didn't show a single sign of emotion.  What is wrong with him?

"Terry…  I – I'm – I'm sorry…"  She spoke.  It was very soft; she didn't want to disrupt the calm order of things.

Terry looked up at her.  Her face must have looked like his.  The silence was making the situation more tense.  _Say something stupid!_

"Mary… I," Terry coughed.  She wanted him to speak but if it was going to be too painful for him it was better if she talked first.

"Shhhhh…"  Mary said while covering Terry's mouth with one finger.  "I…  I'm sorry for spying on you all those times.  It's just that…  It's just that I worry.  I worry about you Terry.  If something ever happened to you again like last year I – " Tears started forming around her eyes.

Terry took her hand in his.  She looked up at him and saw his face changed for the better.  The tears were beginning to subside.

"I'm sorry I brought you into this Mary…"

She pulled back a bit but didn't let go of his hand.

"I'll leave as soon as I can.  I won't even compete in King of Fighters this year."

"What?  Terry no!"

_Huh?  What is she saying?_  Terry pondered to himself.

"Terry.  I'm not upset anymore.  I looked into what you were doing."

_What?!  What does she know?_

Mary showed him a file folder.  She opened it up and there was a picture of Rock.  Not the picture that Terry carried but another that was of much better quality.

"Rock Howard.  Son of former underground crime boss and King of Fighter's champion Geese Howard.  Age eight.  Last known whereabouts: South Town."

Terry looked in shock.  She'd done her research but she probably has a lot more questions than that.

"Why?"

"Huh?"  Terry said but it came out more like 'Mugh'.

"Why are you looking for Geese Howard's son?!"  She sparked.  It may have come out louder than she expected.

"I…  I…  I feel for the kid."

"What?"

"He…  He didn't have anyone.  When I found him he was all alone.  Just like me.  So I took care of him.  I showed him around and taught him how to survive.  Then he…"  Terry stopped.  It seemed very hard for him to talk about it so Mary massaged his hand mentally telling him he didn't have to continue.

"Terry…  I didn't know."

"It's ok.  There's nothing you really could have said or done."

"But I still don't understand…  Why did you keep me out of it?"

Terry let out a sigh.  His lungs still hurt on every inhale and exhale but he went on.  "I'd never forgive myself if you were laying here in this bed instead of me."

Mary smiled.  She took Terry's hand and placed it on her check.  It was warm.

"Terry…  You're always so protective except of your own well being."

Terry rubbed his thumb against Mary's cheek.  She was so soft and by the looks of it, very fragile.   Especially her heart.

"You should rest Terry."

"I know…"

Mary looked at him with an inquisitive stare, "Can…  Can I ask you something Terry?"

Terry looked at her with his eyebrows raised.  "Yes Mary?"

"Was…  Was it worth fighting for?"

Terry dropped one eyebrow.  Even that hurt.

"Was it worth fighting for someone else?  Even…  Even knowing you might get hurt or even worse?"

Terry thought long and hard.  He knew the answer but he didn't want it to come out as if he was mocking Mary.  "I'd do it again and for the rest of my life if I could.  That is the only way I know how to live."

_He lives for others but he's all alone.  How sad…_  Mary thought.  "I'll let you rest."

She said that but neither of them moved an inch.  This moment was too perfect.  That was just before Terry's stomach rumbled shaking his whole body.

"Ahhhhh!"  He jittered grabbing his stomach.

"Terry!"  Mary cried.

"It's alright…  It's just my stomach."

Mary calmed down.  _His stomach was just rumbling.  He must be real hungry_.  _That idiot!_

Mary startled chuckling.  "I see someone is still hungry.  I'll be right back."  Mary got up and took Terry's empty bowl but he was still full of questions.

"Mary…?"

"Yea Terry?"

"Why are you doing this…  For me?"

Mary didn't know what to say.  She couldn't believe it wasn't that obvious.  Maybe it was time for her to take a little rip into Terry.  See how he'd like it for a while.  Only this time, she wouldn't lie.

"Why?"  She cutely asked.  "Because I love you silly…"

And then she left the room not evening wanted to see Terry's expression.

*          *          *          *          *

Terry was pale.  He hadn't felt that way in a long time.  Since a certain teal-haired woman left his life.  His body didn't hurt anymore.  It was all focused on one specific point.  He didn't like this pain.  It was the pain of wanting something or more specific, someone you couldn't have.  It was the only thing that kept his nickname Terry '_The Lone Wolf_' Bogard.

He liked Mary.  He liked her a lot but he didn't know if he loved her.  Love had always been something that escaped Terry.  Sure he loved his brother but he kept his distance from him.  Someone he cared for deeply always got hurt and he was much better off on his own.  At least that's what his mind told him.

*          *          *          *          *

_MARY WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!_  Her mind screamed.  She was pretty surprised herself.  Her heart smashed against her chest and kept beating like a hammer.

_Calm down…  You did this to yourself!_

True.  Mary crossed the line into Terry's turf and she couldn't hack it.  Even if it was only one swing.  She quickly ran over to fill the bowl.  If she slowed down even for a second Terry might think there's something wrong.  _For all he knows, I might be joking_ she tried to convince herself.

She was a terrible liar.

*          *          *          *          *

Mary walked into the bedroom.  Terry was still sitting up but his head was lowered.  She didn't get a chance to see his face after all.  Mary placed the bowl right in front of Terry.  Big mistake.

Terry grabbed her hand.  It scared her but not as bad as it did the first time.  There was something different about him.  His hand was trembling.

"Terry…?"  She whispered.  _Something was wrong with him.  Is he sick?_

She took her hand and lifted to see Terry's face.  Shock immediately took over.  He was smiling.

"Ter – " but before Mary could say anything else, her lips were locked.  Terry wrapped his warmth around hers and kissed her with the saved up passion he had for the last several years of his life.

"ry?"  She finished after the kiss was broken.  He kept smiling at her.

"It took you long enough," he joked.

"Oh Terry," she sobbed and squeezed Terry tight.  He knew she'd feel bad if he cringed in pain but he let it subside.  He knew it was a stretch for him and Mary but he didn't really care.  He may not have been in love with Mary but he was still trying to figure out what real love is.  At least now he had a partner.

*          *          *          *          *

"Haaaaaaaaaaagh…."  Andy hissed.  The forest was silent at night but extremely deadly to those who took it lightly.  His meditation had just finished.  He remained silent for the entire day focusing his body.  He felt very confident in his abilities.

"Geki Hishouken!"  Andy cried while releasing a bright ball of ki.  His arm remained still and firm.  The blast lasted a good ten seconds.

Andy was pleased.  His training had proved to be very effective.  There wasn't much time left until King of Fighters so he was getting all that he could in the last remaining weeks he had left.  There was no way he was going to let up now.

"Huh?"  Andy felt a sudden chill up his spine.  The wind was calm, the temperature was normal only a few minutes ago.  Andy focused his senses on his ears.  He could hear something blowing but it wasn't the wind.

Andy leaped backwards.  A fragment of a light blue rock hit the spot where his body once was.  He looked closely at his former meditating plateau and saw that the grass had frozen over.

_Ice?_

He heard a ruffling in the bushes.  Andy broke into his Shiranui fighting stance.  There was plenty of reason to be prepared.  His unknown attacker didn't bother showing himself before starting the fight.

A girl slowly appeared from the location of the noise.  She was covered in a purple leather suit, had a blue glove on one wrist and light blue hair.

_Who is she?_  Andy thought.  That didn't change his stance one bit.  In fact, he made a mental to make it more serious.

"Hello Mr. Bogard."

_She knows me?!  This is too weird._

"Who are you?!"  Andy asked.  It actually came out sounding more like an order.

"I was told you could help me find someone."

_Find someone me?  Was she after Mai?  Or worse, Terry?!_

"Who are you?!"  He asked again remaining firm.

"Terry Bogard, you have information I require."

_Terry?  She thinks I'm Terry?!_

"I have nothing to say to you."

"So be it," she calmly ended.  A bolt of ice shot from her palms.  Andy barely had time to react.  He leaped into the air and easily shot up seven or eight feet.  There was no way this girl was going to let up after already setting up the initial strike.  Andy was going to have to go all out.

"Zaneikan!"  He cried as his elbow flew downwards.  She was still recovering from her attack.  The first strike would go to Andy Bogard.

Andy felt his elbow collide into a hard substance.  He wasn't gullible, he knew his attack was blocked but he didn't hit any flesh.  A glass like substance sprayed forward at him leaving little cuts and slashes all over his arm.

_What the?  Ice?_

His opponent was more clever than he thought.  She had speed and strength.  He'd need to try something different to overcome her.

She took a few steps back and covered her mouth with her hand.

_Was she taunting me?_

Andy mentally rubbed the pain out of his mind.  He had to keep up his offense or be prepared to face dire consequences.

"Zaneikan!"

The female assassin blew a kiss at Andy.

_Oh no!_

Andy's feet froze.  He was locked in place.  His legs were completely immobile as she approached him with a face that showed no expression at all.

Her gloved hand danced the element of water.  It quickly froze and formed a solid metal object.  A knife.

Andy had experience dealing with disarming opponents but not while remaining stationary.  He had to break free.  If he stayed there, it would cost him his life.

"KACHOUSEN!"

A fan came flying out from behind Andy and struck the knife, instantly shattering it.

"HURRICANE UPPER!"

The female assailant was swarmed by a gust of wind and was shot back into a nearby redwood.  The tree shook taking in the resistance.

"SLASH KICK!"

Joe Higashi flew from behind a pile of trees.  His left foot was a bolt of lighting and struck Andy's attacker and she let out a painful cough.

"Andy!"  Mai called running from behind Andy.  She smashed the ice that imprisoned him with the sole of her shoe.

"Mai, what are you doing here?!  Stay back!"  He ordered pushing Mai away.

"Mess with my buddy uninvited," Joe declared.  "That is totally not cool!  SCREW –!"

A whip came out and slashed Joe in the face and again in the body.  The quickness easily halted Joe's attack.  He tumbled backwards and smacked a standing rock.

"Joe!"  Mai called out.  She saw the whip that attacked him come straight for her.

"AH!"  She screamed.  She shut her eyes and heard the whip slap against human flesh and then silenced.

Upon opening her eyes Mai saw the whip locked around Andy's arm.  He gave it a tug and released it from its owner.

"Who are you?"  Andy called out.  Another female entered from where the last one sat against the tree.  She was wearing a very peculiar costume that was mostly white and her hair was done rather obscurely.

"Kula.  That is not Terry Bogard.  That is Andy Bogard," she stated.

The girl known as Lula got up from where she was slammed against as if she wasn't even hit at all.

"Come on Lula.  Let us be on our way."

Both women took off as if there was nothing wrong.  Andy didn't like it one bit.

"Andy…"  Mai whispered.  Her heart was pounding and the adrenaline didn't look like it was going to subside anytime.

Andy didn't want to say anything to Mai.  He still was questioning what that girl wanted with Terry.  He'd seen that glove before but he couldn't put his finger on it.  Mai was being a bit pushy since she hadn't let go of his arm since she got here.

"Mai, why are you here?!"  Andy asked with a bit of unpleasantness in his tone.

"A – Andy?"

"This is dangerous.  You shouldn't be out here!"

"But – But you were in trouble…"

"Yea, Andy.  We already have one Lone Wolf in the group.  It'd be kind of cliché if there were two," Joe tossed his two cents in.

Andy didn't have a response.  There wasn't really anything he was upset about with Mai or Joe.  He'd just thought about what kind of trouble Terry got into during his year absence.  Andy was going to look for Terry and find out was going on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King did her morning warm up stretches.  She wasn't working out today but it was best to remain limber.  Something else was on her mind today but it wasn't the only thing.  Mary was still very distraught after what happened with Terry.  She definitely wasn't herself in the last week but who could blame her?  She'd practically seen Terry ripped apart by Iori Yagami and he'd been unconscious ever since.  Life wasn't going great on her end.

That wasn't the same on King's end.  Well, sort of.  Ryo had been gone for the last two weeks and she had to admit, she missed him.  But now after seeing what Mary went through with Terry, she didn't want to see herself on that side.  Takuma mentioned exercising the heart was difficult but that wasn't training at all.  That was just unbearable.

King picked up the phone.  All this thought about what was going on made her want to know how things were turning out.  She dialed Mary's number.

_She seems tired._

"Hi Mary, this is King."

_Still no progress I guess._

"Same old.  How is Terry doing?"

_I hope I'm not being insensitive asking right away._

"REALLY?!  That's great!"

_Mary must be feeling good now._

"I'm glad to hear it.  Has he said anything?"

_That was pretty bad of me to be excited._

"Oh I see.  Well, I wouldn't worry about it.  He must be so exhausted.  Would you like me to come over there and give you a hand?"

_Mary's been going through so much._

"I see.  Well, I'll call you later.  Please tell me if anything else goes on."

_I'll leave her alone.  This will be a difficult time for her_.

"Bye Mary."

*CLICK*

King let out a sigh.  Her friend and former teammate was practically a zombie.  She sounded exhausted.  Probably due to sleep deprivation.  King couldn't blame her.  She'd probably be a depressed wreck to if –.

_If it were Ryo instead of Terry…_

King didn't respond to that.  She didn't care frankly.  Over the past week she'd made it a mental note to phase out Ryo and any emotions she had for him beyond their friendship.  She didn't want to go through what Mary was swimming in right now.

"Good morning King," Takuma called.  King turned around and saw the Kyokugen Master enter the living room.

"Good morning sir," she said in a small voice.  She'd been talking like that all week.  At first Takuma was worried about it but took it under his own personal assumption that she was having some emotional problems.  Probably involving his son.

"Ryo's coming back today," Takuma noted, "Are you sure you want to see him wearing that."

King looked at herself.  She was still in her pajamas.  She didn't move at first but after a weird stare from Takuma, she went back to her room to change.

Takuma chuckled.  _Looks like her heart is going to get a work out today_.

*          *          *          *          *

King got undressed.  She was still feeling a bit insecure so she searched through her bag for the least feminine set of clothes.

After about five minutes of sprawling her outfits all over her room, she had found nothing that would suit her requirements.

_Damnit!_  She screamed in her mind making double sure not to say anything aloud.  The only garment she had that made her the least unappealing was her new suit she was saving for King of Fighters.  Sally and Elizabeth bought it for her during her last birthday and she was waiting for a special occasion to wear it.

_Not today!_

She placed back into her bag and grabbed a set of casual clothes that would be more appropriate to wear in her current situation.  Before she put them on she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

_Wow…_  She thought to herself.  All she was just wearing were her silk bra and panties.  She knew it wasn't going to help her '_man_' image but she couldn't help it when it came to personal comfort.

_Am I really…  Beautiful?_

_Ryo thinks so._

There goes her inner voice again.  She'd just figured out how to silence it and here it was again.  Here comes a long battle.  Instead of commenting on the last mental lash she looked at her body more.

_I've got a nice figure._

_Training all those years slimmed you down._

_Hmm…_  She thought.  This was the first time her inner voice wasn't being a bitch.

_I bet Ryo would get a kick out of that sight._

King blushed._  Shut up!  Ryo wouldn't care about that._

_Playing hard to get.  You'll only make it harder later._

_Harder for what?!  I don't need anything for him._

_Yes you do._

_What?!  Do I really desire to stay up late hours of the night worrying about whether he'll live or die?!_

_No…  You want to._

_What?!  You're crazy._

_Think about it.  The only reason you were worried about Mary is because you were jealous._

_Jealous?!_

_Yes.  Jealous.  She has someone to love and you don't._

King was silent.  She didn't have anything to say to that.

_You want to worry about Ryo.  Be there for him when he's hurt.  Hold him whenever he's down._

_No…_  She tried to deny.

_But you're afraid.  You're afraid of being rejected._

_Huh?  I'm…  I'm not afraid!_

_What did I already tell you about denying it?  Why don't you just go with your heart?_

_Because…  Because I hate men!_  She screamed.  _I hate them because they treated me awful for my entire life.  The laughed at me when I was down and tortured me in the ring for being a woman!_

_Ryo didn't do any of those things._

_He did at first._

_What was he supposed to do?  You looked like a pretty convincing male_.

She couldn't disagree with that.

_Are you afraid that if Ryo rejects you you'll become that same girl again?  Hiding her face behind the mask of a man._

_Yes…_

_But if someone was going to hurt you that way, wouldn't you want it to be Ryo?_

King stood pondering her course of action.  There wasn't anything she wanted more that Ryo's attention.

_No…_

_No?_

_NO!_

_Why?_

_I'd rather live a life alone that have to experience that kind of pain!  Better to be alone and happy than risk your emotions on a gamble!_

_…_

King smiled.  Her inner voice was silenced.  She threw her clothes on and headed for the kitchen to whet her appetite.  Then a sour feeling entered her stomach.

_The mochi!_

*          *          *          *          *

King bolted down the stairs.  It caught Takuma off guard.  He was standing in the living room watching the local news brief about the King of Fighters Tournament and its latest developments.

_She must be really excited_.

She finally reached the kitchen when she was completely blind sighted at the scene before her.

"Hey King!  How's it going?"  Ryo asked.

"I – I – I…"  _Stop stuttering and say something!_  "Um…  Hey Ryo.  I didn't expect you back this early."

"I skipped breakfast so I could snack here.  Hey!"  Ryo's eyes glowed when he opened the refrigerator and saw his favorite snack waiting for his return.

_No!  Don't!_  King said to herself.  It was too late.

Ryo took the plate and put it on the table.  "Hey there's a note here."  He began to read it out loud.

_For Ryo:  Please Enjoy This Treat_.  And then there was a heart shaped symbol at the very bottom.

A smile touched Ryo's lips.  He looked over at King.   "Yo King!"

"Yes!"  She said standing at attention.  She'd been caught and didn't know how to escape from the cage.

"Was my sister Yuri over here recently?"

_Your sister?  _"Yea…  She was here last week."

"Oh really.  Remind me to thank her for the mochi."  And then Ryo began consuming.

_WHAT?!  I was the one – ._

_Feeling pretty bad aren't you.  I thought you didn't care about Ryo?_

_I don't!  It's just that I believe in giving credit where credit is do._

_Well are you going to stand there like a dummy or are you going to say something?_

King remained frozen.  She'd wait to see what Ryo's reaction was.

"Wow!  These are great!"  Ryo commented while shoving another in his mouth.  "Yuri must have changed the recipe or something."

_Why that?!_

_You'd like to be the one receiving the compliments?_

_Yes…_

"Mmmmm…  That was great!"  Ryo said licking his fingers.  His plate was completely empty.  Not a grain of rice was spared in Ryo's quest for hunger.

Ryo took his plate and washed it in the sink.  He looked over at the corridor and saw King hadn't moved an inch.

"Hey King…  Are you alright?"

"…"  King opened her mouth but nothing came out.

_You're real smooth._

"Shut up!"

_Heh heh heh…  Nice going._

"King?"  Ryo asked kind of rattled after her last outburst.

"Leave me alone!"  And then King bolted back up the stairs.  Ryo's eyebrow sprouted from its resting position and looked over at his dad.

"Was it something I said?"  Ryo asked.

"No, it was something you didn't say."

Ryo chuckled a bit.  "You think I was being a little bit too rough on her."

Takuma joined his son's laughter.  "I would think so.  You know very well Yuri has never made a batch of mochi in her life."

"I know…  I'm glad that I caught that bakery chef before he moved inside the stadium."

"Were you giving her mochi a bit too much credit?"

"No…  They were the best I ever had."

"Then I think it would be right for you to go upstairs and apologize.  She must be taking it pretty hard."

"I know father.  But if I do, will she be getting the _proper exercise_?"

Takuma grinned from ear to ear.  Ryo had done a similar stunt like this to Yuri while she was in training.  If he hadn't, she would never have escalated to her current level.  Ryo did it out of love, not for fun.

"You are speaking like a true master Ryo."

"Thank you father."

"Speaking of which, how did your exercise go?"

It was Ryo's turn to grin.  "Fine father…  Just fine."

*          *          *          *          *

_THAT JERK!_  King screamed while tossing her pillow across the other side of the room.  She was mad.  She was furious.  Ryo completely blew her off and didn't even apologize.

_How can he apologize for something he didn't do?_

_You're not helping!!!_

_How can I?  You ignore everything I tell you._

_That doesn't give you the right to make me yell at Ryo!_

_Why not?!  I'm you!  Aren't you mad at him?_

King calmed down a bit.  She was definitely mad but not as much as she thought.

_Aren't you getting the picture yet?_

_What?  Please enlighten me._

_Look at yourself.  You're already in a position like Mary only you're holding back._

_What are you talking about?_

_You're furious but if I weren't here to calm you down, you might have already broken down and cried your body dry._

_No…  No I wouldn't._

_Fine, then I'll leave you alone.  Ciao!_

_What?!  Wait!_

Silence.  King didn't want to be like this.  She was a fighter and a damned good one.  She didn't care about love and romance.  If any problem came around she could use the universal problem solver and that was that.

King stood up and threw on her training gi.  She had enough sitting around and worrying about her personal problems.  She had too much riding on this tournament and she couldn't let up an inch.

A glance at the mirror revealed everything she wanted to see.  She was fit, tough, and ready to go.  She looked deep into her own eyes and smirked.

_I'm not beautiful.  I'm viscous!_

That was enough for her.  She was ready to go.

"Ow!"  She cried.  Her eye gave her a bad itch and immediately took care of it with a few finger rubs.  A look back at the mirror revealed a different image.

_A tear?_  She saw one sliding its way down her face and barely reached her lips before she smacked it off of her face.

_A coincidence!  It was purely a coincidence!_

*          *          *          *          *

"Prepare yourself Sakazaki!"

"Huh?"  Ryo pondered.  What the?

"TORNADO KICK!"

King's legs swept through empty air.  Ryo had swayed away from her deadly foot and hopped backwards to give him a better position.

"King?!  What are you doing?"

"I'm here to fight you Ryo!  Come on baby!"  She taunted.  More kicks and strikes ensued as she dashed forward at her Kyokugen opponent.

"Fine!"  Ryo replied knocking King back onto the defensive.  They'd both been through some pretty rough training.  This was a good way of testing their abilities.  "Ora – Ora!"

His Kyokugen stance broke out and he was ready to fight.  King was already set in her stance and waiting.

"Surprise Rose!"  King flew into the air and descended to smash her opponent with her multi striking attack.

"Kohou!"

Ryo's uppercut met King's foot and sent her packing to the mat.  She rolled from the ground and quickly sprang up to her feet.  Ryo didn't let up as his stance resumed.  This was only the beginning.

King sprung up from the mat and dashed at Ryo.  Kicks were flying all over the place.  Kyokugen wasn't primarily a defensive art so Ryo knew he had to take the offense as soon as he got a chance.

_Kick boxers have a balance problem_.  Ryo would have to wait for King to strike high.  His chance came soon enough.

King went for a downward heel strike.  _Perfect_.

Ryo caught it with his muscular forearm and threw it back at her.  King started to hobble.

_Yes!_  Ryo threw a fierce punch.  His fist was stopped by King's forearms.  She didn't even move a second step back.

_What?_  Ryo thought, _she must have been training real hard!_

"Trap Shot!"  Ryo took too long to ponder the recent action.  His jaw was rocked by King's shoes and she began to unload a massive series of kicks.  Each one connected as they should and as Ryo was dazed she did a final roundhouse strike directly at his jaw.

"Kaaaa!"  Ryo cried.  His body struck the mat but he was quick to his feet.  His bottom lip felt a little funny.

"What the…"  Ryo wiped away at his mouth with his thumb.  There were a few drops of blood staining his had.  _Is she going all out?  Why?_

_Forget it!_  He screamed in his mind.  _If she wanted a fight she was going to get one_.  "Kououken!"

King kind of cringed back upon hearing Ryo's attack.  Too many bad memories came to mind.  No time to reminisce though.  This attack came flying at her all the way from the other side of the dojo.

"Double Strike!"  King dissipated Ryo's Kououken and was setting him up for another strike.  It was now his turn to feel what it was like to be on the receiving end of a fireball attack.  King smiled as it almost made contact but soon dropped her expression as he didn't even look like he formed a defense to block it.

The single venom strike crashed against Ryo's chest in a puff of light blue smoke.  King didn't expect him to just take it.  _Was he giving up already?_

Ryo cracked a half smile.  It didn't even faze him.  "Ora – Ora!"  He taunted again, breaking into his Kyokugen stance.  That pissed King off.  Ryo was taking it like it was a joke.  He'd pay for that.

King burst forward throwing a frenzy of kicks.  Some of them didn't even seem to have much power to them.  It was like she was attack just to hurt Ryo.

"King what's going on?!"

King didn't answer.  She just kept on kicking.  If he was smart enough to taunt her, he should be able to get out of this no problem.

She suddenly felt the weight from under be lifted up and her face planted on the mat.  Ryo stuck his foot out and just grazed her unbalanced ankle.  That was very embarrassing for her.

"King, that's enough."

Ryo wished he said that standing back a few feet.  Somehow King's heel was off target as she kicked at Ryo's stomach.  She missed by about ten inches.

"ARGHHHHHH!"  Ryo cried reeling backwards.  He would have sworn he saw his life flash before his eyes.  King was fighting dirty.  This was the sign of anger, not martial arts.

Ryo's adrenaline returned into his blood stream.  Thank god for years of training that allowed him to take hits like that every now and then.  King was already up and instead of kicking Ryo, she clawed at him with her fists.

_What the?_  Ryo caught King's wrists and held them tight.  She wasn't going to anything with these anymore but unfortunately for him she wasn't a boxer.  King's knee came flying up and collided with Ryo's leg.  The impact rattled her leg and it was useless for the time being.  She could barely stand on it.

"King what's wrong?!"  Ryo screamed.  King lifted her head up and stared at him with an angered passion.  Her eyes dripped with two tears sliding down each cheek.

"That's enough Ryo," called Takuma from the entrance of the dojo.  King's body shivered in his hands.  He let her go.  She just stood there with her head staring at the ground.

"You have a phone call Ryo.  Answer it."  Ryo nodded and immediately headed inside.  Takuma walked over to King but made sure not to make eye contact with her.

"Fighting is not the way to release aggression.  If you feel the need to try another stunt like that again I would have to ask you to leave our dojo and our team."  Takuma was very serious.  He didn't like anyone making a mockery of fighting.  It was acts like the one that took place that gave martial arts a bad name.

"S – Sorry…"  King felt another tear sliding down her cheek.  She wanted to slap it away but her body wouldn't stop shivering.  Takuma gently patted her on the back.

"Come on inside.  You'll need some tea to calm you down."

*          *          *          *          *

"Well, helloooooooo Ryo!"

"Robert," Ryo cringed, "Where the hell have you been?!"

"Hey I've been taking care of business overseas for the good of the foundation."

"Foundation?  Is that another excuse for you to take another vacation on the company expense account?"

"Maybe.  I don't know the deal about legalities and such."

"Robert.  You're supposed to be training!  How are you ever going to last a single round in King of Fighters if you keep screwing around?"

"Hey you know me…  I do what I can.  I'll be over there next week so you better be prepared."

"Wait!  My father is going to – "

"Later."

*CLICK*

Ryo sighed.  Robert always avoiding being in South Town during King of Fighters because he'd be dragged kicking and screaming to the Kyokugen dojo.

Ryo left headed for the garage.  He neglected his bike for a whole two weeks now and he'd give the rest of his day to working on it.  _At least there's something here to relax me_.

*          *          *          *          *

Night had covered South Town.  King stayed in her room for a good portion of the day.  She was too embarrassed to go back downstairs.  _What was I thinking?_

_I know!_

_You again…_  She hissed in her mind.  _You've been nothing but trouble_.

_How about taking some of my advice now?_

_Why?  It's already too late._

_You might think so.  Worse things could have happened._

_I kicked him in his privates and gave him a bloody lip.  What is worse than that?_

_You could have really made him upset.  You're pretty lucky he's got good discipline._

King shook her head_.  Why was I so stupid?_

_Because you were afraid of being hurt so instead, you wanted to hurt him._

_What?_

_Think about it.  Why did you cry while fighting with him?_

King sighed.  She didn't know.  All of her emotions built up right then and there and she just let them guide her through the entire event.

_Right…  Didn't I tell you you'd be hurt either way?_

_I don't want to hear it!_

_No…  But maybe Ryo would._

_No he wouldn't.  He probably hates my guts._

_You'll never know…_

She shook her head again.  King finally was going to take the advice of her other half.  _Might as well_.  She tried everything else.

*          *          *          *          *

King entered the living room.  There sat Ryo, watching television, flipping through the channels.  He must be upset.

She took another step forward and accidentally nudged one of the coffee tables.  Ryo quickly turned his head.

"Huh?!  Oh…" said Ryo.  He quickly stood up, "Hi King…"

"H – Hi…  Ryo."

The mood was very uncomfortable.  Neither of them said anything.  They just looked at each other and thought about what they should say.

"Umm…"

"Uh…."

They both stopped.

"You first," King stated.

"No, it's ok.  You – You can go if you'd like."

King nodded.  Just calm down and say it already!!!

"I'm – I'm – I'm sorry Ryo!"  King said while bowing.  Ryo kind of figured she was going to say something like that but she didn't have to bow.

"It's alright King!  I'm…  I'm sorry that I acted that way…  In the dojo."

"No it's ok!  It was my fault!"

This apology war was going no where.  Ryo thought it would be best to change the subject.

"Would you…  Like to have a seat?"

King looked up at his with a weird expression on her face but it soon faded and she smiled.  _She always looked so good with a smile on her face_ Ryo thought.

They both sat and watched television.  They remained that way for the next hour.  No one said a word.  They just sat and watch.  Some people would find this kind of behavior a little erratic for two people to mend their emotions but it worked for them and that's all that mattered.

Ryo looked over at King.  Her eyes were shut and she looked very peaceful.

_She's asleep?_  Ryo thought.  It was pretty late so he couldn't really blame her.  No gentleman would ever leave a lady sleeping on a couch.  Ryo walked over and gently picked King up.  She was very light and by the feel of her prone body, very fragile.

Ryo found his way to King's room and gently placed her on her bed.  She laid still.  Ryo took a closer look at her and he could have easily mistaken her for an angel.  Her draped her body with a bed sheet and tucked her in snugly.

"Good night King," said Ryo.  He had to smile at her.  She was a full grown woman but looking at her like that she looked so young.

Ryo leaned forward.  She deserves this.  Ryo kissed King on her forehead and smiled.  "Thanks for the mochi."  He soon turned around and left her room.

Once the door shut, King blushed and smiled.  She reminded herself tomorrow to pray to anyone who would listen and thank them for making the Sakazaki's stair case noisy enough to wake her up and allow her to live through that moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  Woah this story is smoking!  I didn't expect to write this much but I guess that happens when you're bored, its 3 am, and the power's out.  King of Fighters is rolling around the corner so the real action will take place in about two chapters or so.

Story Notes:

- Kula and Foxy:  I don't really know much about these two characters but I've seen them recently in the KOF games.  I hope I didn't make them seem too out of character but I don't really have anything else to go on.

Alright guys.  That's it for now.  I'm working on Chapter 7 as we speak and I should have it up by Tuesday or Wednesday.  Thanks for the reviews guys.  Keep them coming and hopefully I'll see you for the end.  Take it easy guys.

P.S.:  I've taken care of the chapter 3 problem.  Sorry about the trouble but I'm glad someone told me or else I would have just left it alone.)


	8. Chapter 7: This Means War Changing Focu...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 7: This Means War / Changing Focus**

_1 Week Until King of Fighters Tournament_

South Town was booming in population. King of Fighters was right around the corner and everyone wanted a ringside seat. Tickets had sold out last week but that hasn't stopped fans, and scalpers for that matter, from cutting into the action. Parties sprung up every night and the masses yearned for more and more entertainment to craze their addiction. King of Fighters was officially here.

Registration began this morning and carried out through the rest of the week. Fans lined up the night before just to catch the entering participants before the tournament begins. People even came dressed as their favorites but all across the boards the number one apparel are the famous 'Fatal Fury' hats worn by last year's winner Terry Bogard. The first King of Fighters Tournament of the millennium was shaping out to be the best.

Covering this spectacle is the famous News Combo 7. Their yearly ratings peak around King of Fighters due to their overly extensive coverage and uniquely acquired inside information. The station thrived on the inner sanctum that is King of Fighters.

"Hello. This is Yumi Sanada for News Combo 7. Today is the first day of team registration and as you can see the fans are jam packed and waiting to see their favorites."

Ymui walked closer to the crowd. This is what the called 'Viewer Candy'. It gets people to watch the station if they think they'll get a chance to be on TV. Works every year.

"Excuse me sir… Who are you and why are you here?" Yumi asked a random fan. He was in his twenties and seemed to be plenty excited.

"YEA! WOO! I'm Jesse Richardson and I flew all the way from America to watch Terry Bogard kick everyone's as like he did last year! WOOO!" He screamed while slapping a few of his native buddy's hands.

Yumi moved on to a few less rowdy fans. "Excuse young laides," _I can't believe there are actually attractive women here_, "Why are you waiting for King of Fighters?" _This ought to be good for the blooper reel_.

"Hallo! We are here to see Benimaru! God he's so sexy!" The mass of females were swept by his image and fainted against one another.

"These people get more and more retarded every year!" Yumi whispered to her camera man.

"Uhh… Yumi. We're – We're still on live!"

Yumi shot to a pale color but shook it off and continued through the crowd looking for the one normal person to talk to. She finally found someone who didn't seem like their head was stuck up their ass and went for it.

"Hello, News Combo 7. What's you're story?"

The young man smiled. His brown hair and blue outfit screamed attention.

"I am Shingo Yabuki! Kusanagi Martail Artist in Training! I am here to represent my Master Kyo Kusanagi in his absence." Shingo jumped from the crowd that didn't even recognize him and stood at the entrance. "Let's go Shingo!" He declared as he walked off into the registration area.

Yumi signaled to cut and prayed the Tokyo Nightly News would finally accepter her application.

* * * * *

King of Fighters brought all kinds of fans; even those who cared for more 'participation' on their part. Street fights were a regular occurrence and the local law enforcement usually tripled their watch and surveillance. Today was the start of the daily raid of brawling but it was only the beginning.

Andy Bogard and Joe Higashi combed these streets. Andy's brother was well known to get his warm ups from the back street brawling so that was the ideal place to look for him.

"Geese… You'd think these people would get a life," Joe commented. Seeing the streets of South Town like this sure brought back memories of the old days.

"Calm down Joe. This city is in shambles. The people only know how to live like this. We don't have any order."

"Yea. And to think Geese Howard was actually helping this place."

"Joe!" Andy yelled. He didn't like hearing praise about the murderer of his father. Even if it was true.

Andy and Joe kept on walking. There was no sign of Terry. Joe yawned every now and then hoping his comrade would notice but he knew Andy was too focused to notice or even car. With nothing else to loose, Joe closed his eyes and took another yawn.

*SMACK*

"What the?" Joe cursed. In front of him was the wall he thought he bumped into. This wall was pretty big, sporting a camouflaged bandana, black vest, and olive green pants. His face, which was covered with stubble hair, was only inches from Joe's.

"Who the…? Higashi?!" Said the man. He took a few steps back and pointed to his accomplice who was questioning some random fan.

"Joe, what are you doing?"

"Check it out," Joe said pointing ahead.

"Joe. That's – "

"Bogard, Higashi. Follow us." This guy was all muscle and no talk. _Thank God_ Joe prayed in his mind. _This guy must a killer with the ladies for his articulation_ he joked. He was tall, wearing all blue, had an old ball cap on his head and glasses that screamed 'getting some' but a smile that said 'only after payment'.

"What do you guys want?" Andy asked. He was showing a lot of authority in his tone. Messing around with these guys wouldn't get them anywhere and if they wanted information they'd better have a damn good reason.

"Don't ask any questions!" Called the bandana clad man.

"Listen here buddy! We don't have to go anywhere with you guys!" Joe declared sounding pretty serious himself, "I have no intention of joining the circus so why don't you guys buzz off!"

"Joe…" Andy said hoping not to knock Joe off his high horse, "They're Ralf and Clark. They work for Heidren."

"What?" Joe said rather inquisitively. "Ohhhhh! Those guys," Joe said with a smile. "Sorry I didn't recognize you. Maybe if you laid on the floor with a big bruise on your head, but hey, how's it going?!"

"Grrrr!!!" Ralf hissed, "Don't mess with us Higashi! You better come with us or else!"

"Or else what?!" Joe said while taunting the Ikari warrior.

"Joe!" Andy called out. Joe was too busy making fun of his would be opponent where as Ralf was trying to break through Clark's restraints.

"Come on tough guy! Oraaaa!" Joe yelled while shifting into his kick boxing stance. Ralf was steaming and finally pushed back Clark so he would be prepared to take Joe in by force if, no. When necessary.

Andy turned to face Clark. He was just standing there looking stiff, showing no emotion at all in his face. Suddenly, he shifted his sunglasses closer to his face and slowly approached his fighting stance.

_Damnit Joe!_ Andy cursed to himself. _Why now?!_

The fight had already begun. Spectators began to form around the alley cutting off all exits. There was no way out now.

Ralf charged at Joe. The intensity of his eyes showed his passion and his anger at the tall haired kick boxer. He wanted to shut him up and put him down. Joe saw this and put his right foot back. If he wanted to fight Joe he'd better be prepared to fight a veteran. Joe knew all the tricks. Except of course the old 'exploding earring'.

The short distance between Joe and Ralf ripped into smoke and flames. Ralf took a defensive roll to the side whereas Joe took a step back, shielding his face from the blast.

"That's enough!" Called a female voice from the alley. Several spectators parted and revealed the blue-haired fight stopper.

Ralf immediately stood up and dusted himself off. Joe looked over at the young lady and began scoping her out with his devilish eyes. She was tall, slender, extremely beautiful and if it weren't for that pissed of expression, she was quite a catch.

"Well hello there good look – Ah!" Joe screamed as she walked by and completely blew him off. _Well can't win them all Higashi. You're a fighter not a lover. Yet anyways…_

"Jones, Steel! That was not part of your mission!" She declared. Ralf cracked the muscles in his neck and shoulders but didn't say a word. He knew she was pissed and she knew that he did as well.

"Alright enough!" Andy wailed. He was pretty mad at everyone for causing a scene, now they were just wasting time. "What do you want?"

Andy already identified her as Leona Heidren. She was a pivotal player in the '97 Tournament during the whole Orochi blood fiasco.

"Mr. Bogard, Mr. Higashi. You are wanted for questioning. If you'd follow – " Leona stated before she was interrupted by a not so happy Andy.

"Forget it. We don't have time to waste with you," Andy said while turning his back. "Let's go Joe."

Joe nodded and followed. They had just about left the alley but not far enough from Leona's speaking distance.

"Even if it concerned the well-being of your brother?"

Andy froze. She must have figured out his weak spot before wanting to meet with him. She was smart alright, definitely one of Heidren's. He turned around and walked towards her.

"I'll tell you what you want if you tell me what I want, got it?!" Andy ordered. His arms crossed in front of his chest and he was going to be a stone for the remainder of the conversation.

"Very well," Leona agreed. "But if we're going to do it let's go somewhere private. We don't have many friends on the streets."

Andy took a look around. There were a lot of people watching and even more in places where he couldn't see. Staying here would only prove to be their disadvantage. Andy nodded and followed the Ikari team. Joe went along as well but not before blowing the female fans a kiss of the one and only kick boxing legend.

* * * * *

The bar was dull. Not a speck of class in the joint. A couple of early bird drunks lay flat on their tables with empty bottles of booze and the bartender looked like he was born and raised on the streets with nails as a pillow and chains as a blanked. Andy and Joe sat with the Ikari warriors wondering why the hell would they ever be in a place like this.

"Nice place you got here. Heidren didn't squeeze a single penny building this fine establishment," Joe commented. Leona's internal sarcasm meter broke through the roof but that didn't matter as of yet. They had business to conduct.

"This is a safe haven. We have this place monitored and bugged so we can see everything going on at all angles during any frame of time," Leona reassured her big mouthed guest. Joe nodded while looking for all the high tech gizmos she was talking about and tried to make it look inconspicuous.

Leona looked at Andy and his serious expression screamed _What do you want?_ so instead of waiting for him to say it for a third time, she reached into her pocket and tossed him a set of photos.

Andy picked up the photos and skimmed through them. They were pictures of a single man at different angles. He was tall, sharply dressed in black, and wore black sunglasses. He looked strangely familiar and then it hit Andy.

"Who is this?!" Andy asked.

"This is an agent of the N.E.S.T.S. cartel. They were responsible for the incident during last year's tournament and we have reason to believe they are also heavily involved in this year's tournament as well," Leona responded.

"What does this have to do with Terry?" Joe asked trying to make it seem that he's also still alive in this boring place.

"Several of our agents spotted this man and another quite like him attacking your brother recently."

Andy never heard of the other guy. In actuality, he hadn't spoken to Terry since the day he came back.

"So? What do they want with Terry?" Andy questioned.

"That we do not know. N.E.S.T.S. is tightlipped about any of there operations. But whatever it is it must be serious because the second photo is one of N.E.S.T.S. best warrior that your brother smashed into a wall."

"I see… So why do you want to speak with us?"

"We want to know exactly what happened during the incident in the sewers in last year's tournament."

"Why?"

"That is classified information."

Andy hated the military line of duty. Everyone who's anyone was kept in the dark about something but he figured there was nothing wrong in telling them what happened then. That was in the past. Dead and buried. There was nothing then that they should be worried about now.

The younger Bogard began explaining the event in as much detail as he could remember. They ran into a room which number he'd forgotten and fought against Krizalid. There was that whole devastation that was the Kyo Kusanagi clone affair that sounded like a bad movie plot and then they ran out as the building was collapsing. Right before they left, Andy never caught a glimpse of where Terry had gone to, nor has he explained himself of the incident ever since.

Leona nodded. She was furious inside because they hunted them down all day to find out they didn't know anymore than she had. Terry was the one with the information she needed.

"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Bogard. If you'll excuse – "

"Hold it," Andy ordered while remaining stationary. "My brother is not as cooperative as I am. You're not the only one looking for him."

Ralf and Clark stared at each other as if they were missing something. Nothing really came to mind and they both turned to Leona who was probably in the same state of mind.

"Yea. You ever hear of some girl with a purple jumpsuit?" Joe asked.

_That girl?_ Leona thought. She knew exactly who they were talking about but she wasn't going to say anything to these guys. "No. Why?"

"Never mind," Andy sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere with these tight lipped troopers. "If Terry has anything to do with N.E.S.T.S.," He trailed, "What is going to happen?"

Leona looked back at Ralf and Clark. They shrugged their shoulders not knowing what to say so Leona would be on her own. "If I were you, I'd be worried about his health, not his popularity."

Andy looked back at her with a probing stare. "What do you mean?"

"You're brother is a target now. It seems by the look of these agents, N.E.S.T.S. will do everything they can to see him dead," and with that Leona stood up and walked out of the room. Ralf and Clark followed her. They didn't say a thing to either of them.

"Andy? What is going on?" Joe asked showing a bit more concern than he usually would.

"Whatever it is…" Andy let out, "We've got to find Terry."

* * * * *

Mary unlocked the door to her apartment, a bag of groceries in one hand and a huge smile on her face. Her week had been absolute bliss. Terry was feeling a whole lot better and more of his cuts and bruises had completely healed. She couldn't wait to see him.

"Terry… I'm home," Mary snickered. She'd been saying that throughout the entire week but it still made her grin each time. Mary placed the groceries on her table and fiddled through the contents.

"Anton! Here boy!" Mary called. The dog came from the bedroom with his tail wagging and his stomach hungry. "Here you go," said Mary as she tossed him one of his favorite dog treats. She began to pet his head as he chewed.

"Now what were you doing in Terry's room."

_Terry's room. That sounds nice but in actuality it's my room. No… Our room_. She wanted to giggle at that but she'd had enough of day dreaming and wanted to get on with the day.

Mary walked into the room with a bottle of water. She assumed Terry was thirsty and she fed him nothing but nutritious foods and drinks. Junk food would only slow down his healing and only after a few days of fruits and veggies, he was walking and talking like a new man.

"Terry. I've got – huh?" She looked inside the room to find it empty. Not a soul in the house. Mary's water bottle fell to the ground. _Terry? Terry!!!_

Mary bolted over to the bed and began searching. It was really false hope but she just couldn't believe he got up and took off like that. Before giving up hope she caught a small piece of paper. It's a note.

_Mary: Something's not right. I need to find out more info. I'll be back before dinner_.

_Damn you Terry!!!_ She cursed. She wanted to crumble up the note and smash it in his face. _Wait, there's something on the back._

_P.S.: If you want to help, find out any info about N.E.S.T.S. and we'll talk more tonight._

Mary smiled. At least he's being considerate… She tossed on her jacket and headed out the door.

* * * * *

"Alright let's put the pieces together," Joe stated. Andy looked a bit serious but he was still feeling a bit soused after today's incident with the Ikari team. They both sat in Joe's hotel room and have been there for the last hour. There were a lot of pieces of the puzzle and no frame to put them in.

"There are guys in suits attacking Terry. There is an ice girl looking for Terry and now the Ikari's are looking for Terry," Joe hissed. "Since when did Terry become so popular?!?!?!"

"Calm down Joe," Andy interrupted. "Think this through. N.E.S.T.S. was responsible for the incident at King of Fighters last year. Why would they want Terry out of King of Fighters?"

"Well, I know I wouldn't want anyone who kicked my ass back at my place."

"Good point Joe, but we don't know if N.E.S.T.S. is involved in King of Fighters this year."

"That's possible but isn't that what it's all about? King of Fighters is always screwy. You never know who's going to do what or who's going to betray who."

Andy pondered for a bit. Joe's last comment hit hard. "Betray… Hey, what about K'!"

"Who?"

"The fight in the sewers remember, K' and Maxima were former agents for N.E.S.T.S."

"Right!" Joe shouted as if he was the one who figured it out. "So K' and Maxima left N.E.S.T.S. What does that have to do with Terry?"

"Think about it Joe. Let's think for a second that N.E.S.T.S. is involved. Would you really want Terry in there?"

"I really wouldn't want me in there either."

"Nice Joe but that's not the point. What about that girl?"

"Yea, the one with the freaky hair and ugly glove. What was that? A mechanical hand or something?"

_A glove… Of course_. "Joe! That glove. It's fairly similar to K's! Maybe she wants to find Terry to get revenge for K'!"

"Brilliance. I'm a genius!" Joe boasted. He grinned as far as physics would allow and then came to a thoughtful stare, "So… Where does that leave us?"

"Dead."

"What?" Andy questioned.

"Huh?" Joe replied.

_The voice called from behind the door_ Andy thought. He heard someone's arm winding up, "Joe get down!"

The hotel room door ripped off its hinges and flew towards Andy and Joe. Andy's warning was well received as they both dove to opposite ends of the room. Joe smacked his couch and tumbled over. Andy was smart enough to roll before colliding into furniture so naturally he was the first one up.

"Andy!" Joe called from behind the sofa, "What's going on?!"

Black–suited men started entering Joe's Hotel room. Andy instantly spotted the connection but didn't have time to acknowledge his sight to his friend.

"Get ready Joe!" Andy called out while getting into his Shiranui fighting stance. "Geki Hishouken!"

Andy's ki blast circled the doorway of the hotel room. One suit instantly shot back and smacked the opposing wall. Blood trickled down from his forehead and his body lay motionless. He was out of the fight.

_These guys are pushovers… Better keep my guard up just in case_. Andy saw that two men were approaching him rapidly and he wasted no time confronting them. Joe, on the other hand, was about to get squished by one who thought he was a basketball player.

_Big mistake attacking a guy with the greatest anti-air attack in the business!_ Joe thought. "TIGER KICK!"

His knee smashed against his adversary's glass jaw. He flew across the room like a broken jet liner and crushed Joe's coffee table.

Two more bodies piled up where Joe left his. Andy dusted off his hands but didn't have a smug look on his face. He was pissed and he wanted answers. Just as Andy was approaching the fallen suit, another appeared at the door with a weapon that wasn't a fist.

"That's as far as you go Bogard," He declared waving his pistol around. Andy had training disarming opponents with guns but not at that distance. The suit could get three or four shots in before Andy even got there and it would only take one to put him down.

"I'm glad to see that you've heeded my warning… Now – "

*THWACK*

The suit's chest exploded as if he was hit by a wrecking ball from behind. His gun dropped on the ground and he soon followed. Andy was thankful that the mess was over with but wanted to know who was responsible. Standing behind the suit was his answer and his blessing.

"Terry?!" Andy called out. The older Bogard brother cracked a smile and raised his cap.

"Hey Andy, Joe…" Said Terry. "Looks like we've got a lot to talk about."

It was Andy's turn to smile. "Yes, you're right. These guys' friends of yours Terry?" His brother looked at him with a reminiscing glare.

"Of course you know…" Terry grinned at Andy referring to one of their favorite cartoons.

"This means war…" Andy finished. Joe looked at them kind of funny wondering what the joke was.

"Then let's get out of here. If they sent these they'll send more," Terry stated. "I've got a place that's relatively safe. We'll hang out there and figure out some of the mysterious coincidences going on."

Andy and Joe nodded. The only thing safe in there was Joe's hidden stash of booze. He'd leave a couple grand in the lobby and ask for a new room. He couldn't wait to see their faces when they ask why. _Because the room service is so god damn awful these days._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sakazaki house was very quite today. It hadn't been for the past week, however. Training got more intense, Ryo and King could barely move at the end of the day but they were very thankful that it was finally over with. Takuma said that that the ritual training for King of Fighters was complete and now was a time to relax and get used to the natural look and feel of your new body. It was a weird excuse but Ryo gladly accepted it. This was the time of the year where he could relax and take time to enjoy the little things in life that made him happy before he had to throw them out the window and prepare for battle.

Ryo sat in the dojo with his legs cross and his knuckles resting on his hands. He was trying to meditate and his thoughts were relatively clear. _Relatively_. Ryo was trying to increase his mental intensity so his Haou Shoukouken would resemble his father's but it wasn't working. The focus was on a different aspect of intensity that Ryo just wasn't getting. After finally mastering the Kououken he spent the rest of the time training the more powerful version but he wasn't getting anywhere. He really wanted to ask his father what he was doing wrong but he had a feeling that Takuma wasn't going to tell him anything he didn't already know.

_Come on Ryo… What is it that you're missing?_ He thought to himself. The Haou Skoukouken was the most powerful technique in the Kyokugen School and he'd seen Takuma land _three_ of those no problem on an opponent. He had no idea how he was going to compete with that.

Ryo stood up. He had enough. Meditation was going no where and his stomach was itching for some food. He left the dojo and headed for the kitchen. Hopefully the food gods were going to be kinder than the fighting ones.

* * * * *

The house was a little too quite for Ryo's liking. He had no idea where anyone was and that was disturbing in itself. Maybe he meditated a bit too long.

"How did it go Ryo?" Takuma called from the living room.

Ryo definitely wasn't paying attention. Now he knows that he had been meditating way too long. "Fine father…"

"It doesn't look that way."

He was right. Ryo always had a problem with misleading the truth meaning he never successfully done it with his father but he had to give his father some credit. After training in karate for your whole life, it will sharpen more than just your senses.

"I just need to calm down a bit. There's nothing I can do in my current state of mind."

Takuma nodded. "Yes, that is a good idea. Perhaps your problem is your focus."

Ryo looked back strangely, "What do you mean father?"

"How did you master the Kououken?"

"By increasing my intensity."

"Correct. And how did you do that?"

It started becoming clearer after each passing syllable. "By changing my focus."

"Yes. Now why do you think you are having problems?"

"That's what I don't know father. I did the same thing I practiced for the Kououken…"

"That is the problem."

"What?"

"The Kououken and Haou Shokouken are two different techniques. One is prided by quickness and less strength whereas the other requires heavy strength but lacks speed."

That hit Ryo like a speeding train. All of this time the answer was right in front of him and he was staring into space like an idiot.

"Do you understand now Ryo?"

Ryo nodded.

"Good. Now all you have to do is find that focus…"

Therein lays the problem. Ryo didn't know what to focus on besides anger an aggression. Kyokugen Karate was built on the foundation of strength with plenty of bricks made of anger and aggression. There isn't anything else he could think of.

"Father… What did you focus on when you perfected your technique?"

Takuma smiled. Memories filled his mind of the road he traveled to mastery. _Life was never that exciting_.

"Father?"

Takuma snapped out of his daze. "That is something you'll have to find out for yourself. It is something that I cannot teach nor can be learned. It is a feeling that resides deep within your heart that combines all of your emotions into power and unleash that power onto you adversary."

_What the hell did he just say?!_ Ryo shouted to himself. His father was preachy but he never heard him that preachy.

"Do you understand Ryo?"

"Yes sir!" He snapped trying to sound attentive. His stomach rumbled and it screamed feed me! Ryo grabbed a couple of rice balls and went into the garage. _At least there's something in there I don't have to change focus to do_.

* * * * *

King stood in her apartment again to take care of her brother as she usually would once a week. Jean begged her not to but she knew there isn't anything he could really do about it but deeply, he wanted to thank her. There was no other sister in the world quite like her.

"Thanks for lunch sis…" Jean commented after finishing his meal. It was the only time of the week he got an extravagant meal instead of Elizabeth's _self made take out_. Sally's dinners were actually pretty good but couldn't hold a candle to King's.

"Your welcome Jean…" King replied. She reached over and grabbed a plate for his dessert. "Here you go. Try these."

"Hey… Mochi! I didn't know you cooked mochi," Jean stated as he began to devour the sweet rice snack. "Hey! These are great!!!"

King smiled. She was happy that her brother was enjoying the meal she cooked. Seeing him like that, happy and full of energy, it was worth every minute.

"Wow sis… You're an awesome chef!" He complimented. "I bet if you cooked a few of these for Ryo…"

He saw King blush and that shot a bigger grin on his face. Jean didn't mean to tease her this way but he always heard her talk so highly of Ryo and she needed another man in her life that she didn't need to take care of. She needed someone that could take care of her.

King didn't reply to that which brought up an interesting scenario to mind.

"Oh… I see. You already practiced cooking these for Ryo eh?"

"What?! No…!"

"Come on… These are too perfect to be first batch," Jean said while laughing. He caught her sister in a rough spot she really couldn't explain her way out of.

"Y – Yea… You're right."

"Thought so. So what's been going on between you two lately? You haven't said a word about it in a month."

"No – Nothing really… We've just been training and working out. Nothing special."

"Oh really… That's a shame."

"Jean!"

"What? Is it a crime for me to see my sister happy?"

"What are you talking about Jean? I'm happy. I've got a great life. I've – "

"Sis…"

"What?"

"You're not being honest. Tell me the truth."

King flustered. She didn't know what to say. There were never any secrets between them so she had no idea why she was being so hesitant.

"Sis, you've known him for a long time… Why are you so afraid?"

King knew the answer to that one but she didn't want to snap at her, "It's not that I'm afraid it's just… I don't want to…"

"Do you love him?"

"Jean!"

"Come on sis! No more games. Do you love Ryo?"

She blushed. She passed through her mind a hundred memories of her times with Ryo. Some of them were sweet, some were sour, and there were the select few that she wanted to live all over again.

King nodded.

"Then why don't you just tell him. Some guys are as dense as lead. I don't want to knock on Ryo, but if he didn't catch any of the signs by now –"

"Well," King interrupted. "It wasn't like I was throwing any pitches."

"What?!" Jean shot back. "Sis you –" but before he could finish his lungs burst into coughs. King quickly rushed over there and made sure he was ok. It wasn't anything special; he was just having a couple of _run of the mill_ coughs.

"You shouldn't get excited like that Jean, it's not helping."

Jean finished his ranting of coughs. "I'm alright sis… But you won't be if you keep quite."

"…"

A sigh left Jean's breath. "Alright sis… You're done playing mom for today."

King laughed. That's what Jean usually said before they parted. He always wanted to make sure his sister left in high spirits. He was really dedicated to his job.

King kissed Jean on the forehead. "You take it easy ok?" She stepped away from his bed and headed for the door.

"Boy what'd Ryo do for one of these…"

"JEAN!" King burst with a small blush on her cheeks. Jean was laughing and she couldn't be mad at him for that. So long as he was happy; she was happy.

_But are you really happy?_ Her inner voice beckoned.

_Not you again… Can you leave me alone until I get back to Ryo's place?_

_Alright, but you'll be awfully bored._

She sighed and left her apartment. It was going to be a long walk home.

* * * * *

"WOOOO!" Ryo cried while racing in the night. He just finished tuning up his bike and wanted to take it out for a test drive. This was the life he enjoyed; high risk and plenty of action. This is what he wanted to focus on now.

Ryo cut and cornered between oncoming vehicles, not even considering his health or the well-being of the drivers. He was hungry for speed and he was on the most dangerous buffet line in South Town.

* * * * *

_So… How's it going?_

_Grrr…_ King growled at her inner voice. There was no getting around it now. She'd have to face the music sooner or later.

_Good point. Now, on to business. When are you going to talk to Ryo?_

_About what?_ She avoided. They were only getting started.

_You can't fool me. I'm you. I know everything. Don't make me tell him myself!_

_No! Don't!_

_Why not? You're obviously too afraid._

_I'm not afraid… It's just that… Just that…_

_What? What are you hoping for? Ryo isn't going to get the picture all by himself. You've got to step up to the plate and take a swing!_

_…_

_I know for a fact that Ryo would never do anything to hurt you. There shouldn't be anything to be scared of._

_You can easily say that but you're not the one who has to reap the wind of the oncoming emotions that goes with it._

_That maybe true but I'm going to keep bugging you until you do something. You can't keep your feelings bottled up forever._

King sighed. Her mother never had time to teach her how to deal with the opposite sex. Especially if you liked someone you've known for a long time.

_Maybe…_

_Well, when King of Fighters rolls around… Anything can happen. I'm not going to keep quite until then!_ And with that, she kept on walking into the night without a thought of the outside world.

"Hey there little lady… Aren't you the prettiest thing?" Called someone from the shadows. King stood at attention. _Just another drunk. Nothing to be afraid of._

"Hey you found one…" Another voice called. This one came from another direction. _Two wouldn't be much of a problem. Just take a little longer_.

"All RIGHT! I'm starving!" A third shouted. King started to feel a cold chill on her spine. Something wasn't right about this situation.

The three thugs crawled from their hiding places. One looked to be an average male who looked like he didn't shower or shave in a few weeks. Another was a shorter, uglier version of Chang, an opponent she fought and beat during last year's tournament. The third was the worst of all. He was clean cut, wore a flamboyantly colored suit, and had the making of one of those Hollywood producers who knew exactly what to say to get someone in bed.

"Hey… She's cute!" The first one commented. "The short hair kind of reminds me of a guy but that face and body is all woman!"

King cracked a small blush. She was still embarrassed to be known as a guy even though she wasn't around Ryo. She definitely got used to that atmosphere and here was irony staring her in the face.

"Yea… I'd like to know if she's a screamer." The suit replied.

"Let us send you to the island of pleasure madam!" The fat one begged. They started to close in on her but King kept stepping back. Soon her tracks where cut short as her body slammed into a chain-link fence.

_Shit!_ She cursed. King was going to have to fight but she was still a little reluctant. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Ah… You're trapped. Be a good girl and come with – OOOUGHF!" The suit shouted while taking a sharp kick to the gut. He instantly went down and his body began convulsing as a result.

"Why you – ARGH!" The first one got a kick to the crotch. King restrained herself from doing things like this in a regular fight but this was a street fight. They wanted to mug and rape her. _Guys like that deserve castration! Anything goes_.

"Huh?! Argh!"

"TRAP SHOT!" King unloaded on the fat one. She wanted to vent a bit of her frustration off on these guys and especially the Chang look alike.

King dusted her hands off. It was a job well done in her mind. She hadn't even broken a sweat and here where three of South Town's many degenerates laying flat.

"You bitch! I'll – "

"Huh?" King turned her head to face the first man she'd dropped. He was on his knees, now armed and aimed at King's back.

A thousand volts of electricity ripped into her spine and without even thinking about it she dropped to her knees. _Why… That?!_

"Get her!" The still reeling average guy ordered. The suit grabbed her from behind and tossed her into the fence. A right fist soon followed into her gut.

King spat into the air. She'd taken a few blows like that before but it still hurt every time. Kick boxing created abs of steel but it wasn't meant to be taken literally.

"Rip her shirt off!!!" The suit ordered. He had her left arm locked and used his free hand to grip her hair just in case she tried another stunt like that.

The average guy tore her blouse right off. A smile trickled on his face and so did a bit of drool. She was wearing the black silk bra she had been showing off in her mirror as of late.

Tears began to form around her eyes. King never felt a pain like this. She wanted to tear these guys to shreds and she literally could but her legs just wouldn't respond to her brain's wishes.

She then felt a tongue slide up the back of her neck. It felt disgusting and she spat in retaliation but nothing came out of her effort.

  
"Look at that… I bet she loves it rough!" The suit replied to his companions. "Do the pants next!"

They both smiled. This night was shaping up to be pretty good. They were full of liquor and now, free sex.

"HAOU!!!!"

"What the?" The average pondered. "Check it out!" He ordered the fat one.

Chang's clone walked away from the scene with King's naked image in her mind. He saw a fairly old motorcycle parked in front of the bar they just came out of and a weird orange light coming from the alley.

"Huh?"

"SHOUKOUKEN!!!"

A massive ball of orange ki flew from the alley and collided with the fat man. The blast shot him from his standing place and right through the chain link fence. He didn't even have time to scream.

"Why that!" The suit shouted while dropping king. "Get him!"

The average guy looked a bit scared. Whatever took out the fat one, he didn't really want any part of but then there was the orders of the guy with the tazer. He was closer and more of an immediate threat than the ki thrower so he'd try his luck next.

He charged foreward. Let's see how you like a little melee combat he taunted in his mind while whipping out his switchblade.

"ICHIGEKI HISSATSU!"

*CRACK*

The air in his lungs shot out like a thousand swords. He felt the center of his chest split apart but there wasn't a sign of any blood. His body smacked the ground without the sign of normal breathing.

The suit grabbed King and pointed the tazer to her neck. "I'll kill her!!! STAY BACK!" He yelled with a hint of fear in his tone. King was recovering from the initial shock and wanted out of this situation as soon as possible.

King blasted her heel into the suit's food. He cried out in pain and more importantly, released her from the hostage situation.

"KYOKUGEN-RYUU OUGI!!!" The hero jumped out from the shadows and flew towards the suit. He didn't have a chance now.

"ORA – ORA – ORA – ORA – ORA!!!!!" Kicks, punches, elbows. Each landed at key pressure points of the body and they were rocking the suit's world.

King couldn't believe what she was seeing. A man that thought he was big and tough was being humbled in a matter of seconds. The second sight really brought a ray of light on her world.

"R – Ryo?!"

"MORRATA!!!" Ryo finished off the lecher with a spiral Kohou uppercut and sent him straight into the air and soon, down to the concrete.

Upon landing, Ryo tightened his belt. It was unusually for him to be in his gi at this time of night but he never changed out of it since this morning. Kind of lucky that it happened but then he looked over towards King and realized where his luck should have been.

"KING!" Ryo shouted while running towards her. She was still on the ground, sitting up and watching the massacre that took place. Her body was frozen.

"KING? KING?!" Ryo cried. "SPEAK TO ME!"

King's eyes peered over to Ryo's. She saw the fear and worry in his eyes. Crying was inevitable.

"Ryo…" King sighed.

"King?"

"RYO!!!" She yelled wrapping her arms around his body. The tears would not stop flowing. She had never felt this scared and vulnerable in her entire life. All she wanted to do was let it out.

Ryo squeezed her back. He was real pissed off no longer than a minute ago and now he was quite relieved. He subtly examined her body with his arms to make sure of no immediate injuries. Ryo calmly pushed her back after confirming that she was ok.

"King, are you alright?" He had to ask. This would make her feel just a little bit better.

King could feel the water swelling up in her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. She didn't want to seem like a little child that required the assistance of a _knight in shining armor_. Although, it did feel good when he came to her rescue.

Ryo stood up and carried King along with him. She was shaking. She wanted to tell him thank you and show him the love he just showed her but her body wasn't moving to her brain's commands.

"I – I – I…" All she could get out is a stutter. Ryo was more compassionate than that. He hugged King again trying to get her shaking to stop and after a few minutes it worked.

"King… I promise I'll never let this ever happen again." That was his way of reassuring her. It worked for Yuri a few years back, no reason it shouldn't work now.

Ryo kissed her on the cheek. He didn't do it to calm her down or relieve her stress but it came out like a physical emotion. When he was passing by on his bike, he saw King being assaulted by those thugs and he was furious. He never felt anger like that hit him so hard and taking out the garbage had never felt so good. Even his Shoukouken improved greatly but that was the least of his concerns.

King blushed. The past few minutes were swallowed up by Ryo's past action. She didn't want anything to move. Time, space, the universe; that could all take a back seat. She wanted to live this moment a thousand lives and a thousand deaths if she could. This was true happiness and she was glad that Ryo could share it with her.

_Thank you…_ King prayed wanting the person she thought who could have let this happen to know how truly grateful she was. A smile finally touched her lips.

They broke off after another minute or so. Ryo looked into her eyes and felt a ton of weight lift off his chest. There King was, smiling and he couldn't be happier.

Ryo draped her in the upper portion of his gi. His arm soon followed as they walked towards his bike. "Come on King… Let's go home."

"Home…" She whispered, "That's the only place I want to be right now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author notes: Finally! A little action going down. I'm relieved I'll say. I didn't think I was going to write a chapter just before KOF but I felt there needed to be a little filler just before the big moment. I can officially say this fic is just about half over. I know! Already only half done and I'm one of the longest KOF fics on FanFiction.net. Anyways, writing this chapter started to loose my interest a bit but the ending sure brought me back. Next chapter is round one of the KOF tournaments and here's where the action really begins. Thanks for the reviews guys (Especially Mallow and SilentNinja). Your words help me move this fic. All of my other silent readers should take a cue from these two. Your reviews are my motivation guys and the more that come in, the quicker I punch out chapters. Well, I've ranted on for long enough. Take it easy guys and I'll see you next chapter.)


	9. Chapter 8: King of Fighters Tournament R...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 8:  King of Fighters Round 1**

The South Town Arena is filled to capacity today for the start of the King of Fighters Tournament.  The months and months of waiting are finally over for some die hard fans and today is the day that they have been waiting for.  There isn't a single open space in the house, nor is there one fan sitting down.  Everyone is on their feet and cheering because this is King of Fighters.

"Welcome everyone!"  The announcer called out.  His voice can barely be heard over the crowd and he's the one with the microphone.  "To the King of Fighters Tournament!!!"

Pandemonium was redefined inside the South Town Arena after that last comment.  After a few minutes, they began to calm down and listen to the announcer.

"The bar is set mighty high for this year's competition with a grand prize for first place totaling five million dollars!"  The crowd roared as if they were the ones who were going to get the money.  "No, let's meet our fighters!!!"

Hard rock music flooded the arena.  "Our first competitors…  Hailing from Korea…  They are Chang Koehan, Choi Bounge, Jhun Hoon, and their captain, Kim Kaphwan.  Meet Team Korea!!!"

Fans were cheering.  Kim Kaphwan was a competitor in the second tournament and won over many of the South Town hearts.  They walked down the isle looking proud and somewhat confident.  Chang and Choi were the ones bringing down the mood.  They've been busting their asses for Kim and Jhun and haven't had a moment of freedom since.

"Now walking down the isle…"  The music changed from rock to a smoothing melody.  "Hailing from various parts of Japan they are Kasumi Todoh, Yonjou Hinako, Yuri Sakazaki, and their captain Mai Shiranui…  They are the Female Fighters!!!"  Men began to scream their hearts out.  The Female Fighters Team was known to drop a few jaws every year, especially Mai.

Down the isle every single man, single or married, were yelling for just a glance at the prettiest fighters this side of the Pacific.  Mai started to blow kisses to the crowd but deep inside had a hint of glee.  She hoped Andy was watching and even though she knew Andy wasn't the jealous type, she wanted to send him a little message of what could be.

The beat changed to a familiar J – Pop song.  "Entering the arena…"  They announcer calmly stated.  He'd been previously informed to keep his introduction quite during this song because the fans adored it.  "Meet Bao, Chin Gentsai, Sei Kensou, and their team captain…  Athena Asamiya!"  The fans roared.  Athena was known as one of the cutest fighters but had the best smile.  "Here is the Psycho Team!"

Athena waved to the crowd, dumbfounded at the fact that they were mostly school girl freaks and saw them as true martial arts fans.  Kensou and Chin calmly strolled down, Kensou with his hands in pockets and looking a little embarrassed.  Athena was one to pose for a crowd but she tended to overdo it a bit.

The music stopped.  The announcer knew what was coming and went along anyways.  "Walking down the isle, here are Whip, Clark Steel, Ralf Jones, and their team captain Leona Heidren…  Meet the Ikari Team!"

They walked down in military fashion.  There were no expressions on their faces and the crowd really didn't know how to react.  Nothing was more boring than people who didn't put on a show but for the fans, they never got to see the site behind the King of Fighters.

After a brief silence, music began to roar again.  This was a familiar tune and the fans lifted from their seats and cried their hearts out.  One of their South Town heroes was coming in.  "Hailing from South Town…  Here are King, Robert Garcia, Takuma Sakazaki and their team captain…  Ryo Sakazaki!!!"  Fans cheered like crazy.  Ryo had a high image in the eyes of the fans and by the look of his serious brow; he intended to keep it that way.

"Here is…  The Art of Fighting Team!"  The words came out like a bomb.  Every year after King of Fighters people flocked to the Kyokugen Dojo to learn the prestigious martial art but most never lasted after a month or so.  Ryo lead in front with King leaning a bit off his side.  She'd been pretty quite ever since the incident last week but Ryo made sure never to leave her sight.

Ryo looked over at King.  She looked fine but her eyes played another tune.

"Don't worry King…"  Ryo smiled at her, "We'll win this thing no matter what!"

King smiled back but it wasn't a real one.  She was still feeling insecure even with Ryo.  This was just something she had to climb over.  There was no easy road for her to travel.

"Now approaching the arena…"  The announcer blasted over the crowd.  The music shifted into a techno trance theme that was fairly unfamiliar amongst the crowd.  "From various parts of Japan, China, and the United States; meet Seth, Lin, Shingo Yabuki, and their team leader…  Benimaru Nikaido!"  It was the ladies' turn to scream which seemed to annoy most of the men in the arena.  "Here is the Benimaru Team!"

"BENIMARU TEAM!"  Shingo protested.  "What is going on?!"

"Calm down white belt…"  Benimaru replied.  "So long as Kyo's not around, I'm in charge."

"But Master Kyo would not approve of this!!!"  Shingo interrupted.

"Will ya calm down?!"  Benimaru nagged.  "You've already embarrassed us enough standing in line for registration for the past week even though I told you I had the invitations!"

Shingo blushed.  It was very embarrassing standing there for that long.  He shrugged it off and before he could instate another argument, they were already standing in the ring.

The music changed into a hardcore heavy metal track.  "Walking down the isle…  From various parts of the world."  The announcer scoffed.  They didn't have any real data on these fighters so he had to work with what they had.  _Next to nothing_.  "Here are Vanessa, Ramon, Maxima, and their team captain…  K'!  They are the Heroes Team!"

The crowd cheered but only in vain.  They really didn't know how to react to this team.  K' walked at a fair pace with both hands in his pockets and the rest of his team was just as friendly.  After about a minute or so, the crowd fell silent.  There was only one team left and it was the hometown favorite.

An old school favorite rock theme blasted on the speakers and everyone's energy filled the arena with shouts and cheers.  "Our last competitors for the tournament…  Hailing from Japan and various parts of the United States.  Here are last year's King of Fighters Champions!!!"

*          *          *          *          *

"Ready to go guys!"  Terry smirked.  Andy looked back at him with a grinless nod.

"You bet I'm ready!  Returning champions have a title to defend!!!"  Joe replied.

Terry looked down at Mary who was looking a little out of it.  "Yo Mary!  Ready?"

She looked up at him as if he snapped her out of a deep trance.  "Y – Yea…"  Mary then glanced at Terry's bare left arm.  _Give it to him before it's too late!!!_

"Here."  Mary whispered while placing a black object in Terry's free hand.

"What the?"  Terry looked at it closely and smiled.  His missing glove had finally returned home.  "Thanks Mary."  He gave her a wink as they entered the arena.

*          *          *          *          *

"Here is 'Blue' Mary Ryan, Joe Higashi, Andy Bogard…  And their team captain.  Terry…  Bogard!!!"

Terry could feel his ears pop after every syllable.  This kind of rush brought out the best in him so all he could do was tip his cap and wave to the crowd.

Andy walked next to his brother with a less welcoming expression.  Everyone knew the younger Bogard was the more serious one but it didn't necessarily make him the better one.  Andy was sure to not have a repeat of last year's disaster.  His mind was focused only on the moment and nothing else.

Joe was another story.  He was the flamboyant member of the group, blowing kisses and keeping the biggest grin imaginable on his face.  This time of year always brought out Joe's best…  And his worst.

"Here is South Town's own…  Team Fatal Fury!!!!"

A grin crossed Mary's lips even though she tried to remain as serious as possible.  She was finally a part of Terry's team after so many years.  If this was bliss, she wanted to bathe in it.

*          *          *          *          *

The arena fell silent.  All attention was focused on the digital LCD screens at various parts of the arena.  They were about to display the tournament line up.

This was the pinnacle time of the tournament.  After displaying the matches, people flocked to the battle locations, waiting to cheer on their favorites.  This is what made King of Fighters so popular.

The LCD screen flashed and the list was displayed.

**Female Fighters Team**

_versus_

**Heroes Team**

**Ikari Team**

_versus_

**Fatal Fury Team**

**Art of Fighting Team**

_versus_

**Korea**** Team**

**Psycho Team**

_versus_

**Benimaru Team**

After a few minutes of random chit chat amongst the fans, the fled straight out of the arena and to the designated fight locations.  The fighters were required to do a final registration of the competitors and add any last changes before they were to begin round one.  This was the time that most of the fighters spread intimidation amongst their opponents.  Others like to taunt and annoy to throw them off base.  Whatever their fancy, this was the time to do it.

*          *          *          *          *

"Buenos dias mis compadres!!!!"

Ryo cringed.  He could tell that surly Japanese accent from miles away and he couldn't stand it every time.  Just hearing that high pitched, always cheery Japanese accent wanted to make him run his bike over a waterfall.

"What's wrong Ryo?  You look like you ate a bad rice ball…"  Robert commented.  Ryo didn't say a single word.  He just cocked his thumb backwards and pointed into the direction of the sound.  Robert turned around and after confirming the identity, cringed along with his friend.

"Ryo…  Robert…  Is there something wrong?"  King calmly asked.

"Well – el – el…  Como estas senorita?  Tu eres muy bonita!!!"  Called the voiced directly behind King.  She turned her head to face the man who obviously was lost in a different country and then gasped.  It was non other than the famous loud mouthed, tall haired kick boxing champion of Thailand Joe Higashi.

"Uh – Uh – Uh…"  King was at a loss for words.  She had no idea what was going on and didn't think she was going to be kept in the dark for much longer.

"Hey Ray – OH!  When did you become so popular with the ladies?!"  Joe asked while draping his arm around Ryo's neck.  Ryo quickly shrugged it off giving Joe a serious stare but knew it wouldn't crack that Japanese grin.

"Ah…  Why the cold shoulder?  I just wanted to be friends…"

"Be friends with yourself!"  Ryo interrupted.  "I don't have time for your jokes!!!"

"What?  Does this mean we aren't going to go out to have some tacos or burritos?"

"Grrr…"  Ryo spat under his breath.

"Take it easy there champ…"  Another voice stated from the background.  "It's not good to get all worked up before a big event."

Ryo seemed to calm down.  Now there was someone with a voice of reason.

"Hey Terry, look who it is."

_Terry?  Terry Bogard?!  Oh no…_

"Well if it isn't my old friend from South Town…"  Terry commented.  "You're looking as tough as ever!"  He stated while throwing a fist at Ryo.  He easily blocked it but didn't follow with his own counter attack like he would usually do every time he and Terry crossed paths.

"Terry…  You look good.  And here I thought you were dead…"

Terry smiled.  "I guess lady luck saved me again…  Take it easy Ryo."

"You too…"

Terry grabbed Joe and walked off.  A great sigh left Ryo's breath.  King walked over to Ryo's front and looked him dead in the eye.  "Ryo…  What is it?"

"IT'S THAT DAMN HIGASHI!!!"  He yelled not immediately noticing how close King was standing to his face.  "Every time he keeps giving me crap about that damn Mexico incident!"

"Mexico incident?!"  King questioned.

"Yea…  During the '94 King of Fighters tournament we represented Mexico, remember?"  Robert intervened.

"Yea…"  King responded.  _What does that have to do with anything?_

"Well…  We did it because Master started up a Kyokugen dojo in Mexico and just happened to receive the invitation there."

"So…  Why is Ryo so upset?"

"Because to Joe, all he needed to see was Ryo with a Mexican flag on his gi to start what you've just seen before you…"

"Ahhhh…"

"Come on Robert!  We don't have to stand around.  Let's go!"  Ryo interrupted.  He stormed off without even caring to look back.

"Ryo!"  King called.  She lurched forward but was quickly pulled back by another.  "What the?"

"Leave him be…  He's already lost the first fight," Takuma stated.

"What are you talking about?"  King quickly asked.  Takuma's mouth remained sealed.  He soon followed his son with both arms crossed around his chest with Robert calmly following.  King sighed.  She didn't want to see Ryo like this.  He'd been on the edge for the last week and this wasn't a good sign.  _What a way to start the tournament…_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is this the place…?"  Joe whined.  "It looks so crappy."

"Well, the address on the card said South Town Construction Center…"  Terry replied.  The place was kind of a mess but that's what the tournament heads wanted.  People got to see fights all over the world and when it's in South Town, they should see the real heart and soul of the city.  It couldn't get anymore personal that this.

"Woah!!!"  Called Ralf's voice from behind.  "Tottotto kakatte koi!"

Joe turned around.  The fight was already beginning.

"Alright guys…"  Terry stated.  He knew he only had a minute or so before the fight began to set his team up.  "Andy, you'll start."

"Got it!"  His brother responded.

"Next…  Joe."

"Right!"  He said with a grin.

"I'll take the third slot."

"Huh…?"  Mary responded.

"Mary…  You're our striker.  I know you'll come through in a clinch," Terry complimented while giving her a small wink.

Mary nodded physically but mentally she was a bit upset.  She really wanted to go out and fight with the esteemed Fatal Fury team and here she was sidelined.  This is not how she wanted to start the tournament.

"Humph…"  Andy hissed under his breath while calling for his opponent to attack.

Ralf didn't take his time at all.  He rushed forward at Andy charging at all cylinders.  Andy saw this move before.  It would hit low so he would have to go high to avoid it.

Within seconds Ralf reached Andy's starting location but he was no where to be found.

"What?!"

"Hishouken!"

Blue ki smacked Ralf's face and sent him reeling backwards.  Not enough for an initial knockdown but good enough to remind him who he was facing.

Andy didn't move an inch.  His stance remained sharp and he knew the only way he can fight against the sheer offense of the Heidren style is to wait and then attack.  There is no way you can counter brute force with more brute force.

"Zaneiken!"  Andy didn't let up.  So long as he had Ralf reeling, he didn't want to stop now.  Nobody could recover from a Hishouken that quickly.

Before Andy reached his target, he could feel the heat rise from Ralf.  Suddenly, his body felt like it was being rocked by tons of little bombs.  Ralf recovered a lot quicker that he expected.

Andy was launched back in the direction he came from.  He was in a lot of pain but it wasn't so much that it was going to take him out of the fight.  He landed pretty hard, smacking the freshly paved dirt and rolling around as if he were on fire.

He could here Ralf approaching.  _Come on Andy!  Don't lie down on the job!_  He thought.  He can't take this fight lying down.

"Shouryudan!"  Andy jumped from his resting place and attacked high.  He could almost hear himself cursing on the way up.  Ralf saw the attack coming and took a small step back, completely avoiding the sudden rush and setting up Andy for one of his favorites.

Andy could feel the muscles being dragged from their natural position and almost snapping at the might of Ralf's arms.  Ralf easily caught Andy in a back breaker and before he could react, Ralf fiercely slammed him on the ground.

"Andy!"  Mary screamed.  She was ready to go in there.  He was taking too much punishment at one time to be able to stand on his own feet.  She rushed forward but was instantly halted by Terry's arm.

"Hold it!"

"But why?!"

"How would my brother feel if you came crawling into his aid when he's down?"  Terry asked.  He knew it was a rhetorical question and he could tell Mary caught it.  "Andy is doing fine.  He's just waiting for his opportunity."

Mary winced.  She didn't know what Terry was talking about but as she stands, all she can do is trust him.

Ralf quickly leaped into the air.  He wanted to pummel Andy with one last attack that would definitely assure him the victory and Andy a long nap.  The rocket punch was on the menu for the end of the fight.

Andy quickly shot up a glance at Terry and noticed his brother's arm covering Mary's entrance into the fight.  He smiled at both of them just before he went into his full out serious mode.

"Chou…!"

_Shit!_  Ralf cursed.  _How in the hell – ._

"REPPA DAN!"

"ARRGGHH!"  He cried.  Ralf's body exploded in pain when Andy blasted right through the ground with a cylinder of fire engulfing his whole body.

Terry shifted a half smile.

Ralf collided with the ground, shaking after taking the full blast of Andy's attack.  The fight was over for him.

Dirt skipped of Andy's clothes as he dusted himself off.  He looked over at the cameras and gave his famous _Yoshu!_ after winning the battle.

Whip immediately entered the fighter's square.  The battle was going to continue right away without any possible delay.  Andy turned and faced her quickly getting into his Shiranui fighting stance.  Round two had begun.

"Koko wa anata no deadline…"

Andy hissed.  Taunting with words like that didn't scare Andy like they should.  It just made him more aggressive in battle.  It could easily be his biggest advantage or his greatest downfall.

Whip lashed out at Andy with her favorite weapon.  Andy didn't even have time to react as his head snapped backwards after the initial shock.  He knew he was cut open since his one open eye saw blood splatter outward and if he didn't watch it, he'd have a few more to match it.

Defense was all Andy could do at this distance.  So long as he was far away, she had the advantage.

"Had enough yet boy?"  Whip calmly asked while twirling Widow.  Andy instantly jumped into the air; he had to lay an offense if he was ever going to get back in this fight.  Surprise was necessary to attack an opponent who had the distance advantage.

"ZANEIKAN!"

Andy's elbow shot downwards.  Whip's eyebrows vibrated up and down but it wasn't enough to completely set her off guard.

"Ah – !"  Andy cried.  His arm was completely wrapped in Whip's offensive tool and he came crashing down a lot harder and faster that he expected.  Andy's body smacked a pile of free standing '_K_' rails and he tumbled through a pile of dirt and debris.

Andy was covered in dirt and mud.  His body ached badly and he felt blood dripping down his eyes and forming a small puddle near his head.  Andy could feel consciousness slipping away from him but he was not one to give up a fight this easily.

Slowly, Andy felt his body being dragged.  The whip was still latched tightly around his arm so he was bound to go wherever it took him.

Whip loved this move.  She would knock the wind out of her opponents and then drag them towards her feet so she could give them a pithy stomping.  It was quite embarrassing and effective.  The best traits of her attacks had properties just like that.

Andy snatched the whip with his captured hand and held tightly.   He gave in a thrust and used her pulling leverage to snap him up and put her within melee range.

_What the – ?_

"GEKI HISHOUKEN!"

"AH!"  Whip's body was swarmed with Andy's blue ki attack.  She was smacked several times before she could break away.  Her whip danced violently around her as she tried to get control.  Luck was definitely on her side this round.

A sharp blow whacked Andy's chest and sent him reeling backwards.  The loose grave on the ground didn't provide proper balance.  He tripped on loose rock and his head bounced off the pavement like a basketball.  Andy Bogard was finished.

Whip regained stability and looked over at her opponent.  He was down and his breathing was heavy.  The knockout was certain.  She wrapped up her whip around her arm and began to play and speak with it.

"Gokigen ne, Widow."

Terry quickly ran up and grabbed Andy.  He picked him up and pulled him to the sideling.  Andy wasn't in good shape.  There were a few cuts on his body and face after the lashing and his eye wasn't looking too well after colliding into the construction equipment.

"Andy?"  Terry called.  His brother let out a hiss from under his breath and loked up on his brother.

"I guess…  I…  Over did it."

"No Andy…  You did just fine.  Just relax now," Terry replied.  "Mary!"

"Yes!"  She responded and quickly went to Andy's aid.

"Take care of him…  We'll finish the fight now!"

Mary looked at Terry and caught a serious glare on his brow.  All she did was look up at him and smile.  "Got it!"

"Joe!"

"ORAH!"  Joe taunted while hopping into the fighting square.  "All right cutie…  You're fighting me now.  Don't worry, I'll make it quick!"  Joe positioned himself in his kick boxing stance and waited.  Whip glanced over at him with an inquisitive look and smiled.  She threw out her whip and let it dance in the air.  Round three was underway.

"Do you have what it takes to defeat me and my Widow?"

"Heh…  If I had it my way, why don't me and you go out and leave your spider at home?"

"What?!"

"ORAH!"  Joe screamed while throwing one of his favorite kicks.  Taunting was the best way to throw off his opponent and he was the master of it.

Whip saw the kick coming but what she didn't realize is that she set up her whip to attack low.  She knew of kick boxers balance issues as was going to abuse it with the best of her ability.  However in her case, it makes it a bit harder to hit low on an airborne target.

She stepped back while throwing her whip low and around so she can regroup and attack.  Joe landed only a couple of feet of her current location and she knew staying there would mean a painful result.

Joe's feet skid on the gravel and he immediately spun around to face Whip.  She was still in the process of repossessing her whip in an offensive function so he had plenty of time to set up his next attack.

"TIGER KICK!"  Joe's knee dug deep into whip's midsection.  She could feel her body being ripped from gravity and tossed into the air.  Joe had the perfect set up and a perfect finish.  With all of the extra time than he had, he made sure his kick was at maximum power.  The second strike rocked Whip's jaw and made a very unhealthy crunch.

Whip's body eventually landed several feet from her once standing location.  She was in a lot of pain.  Her body was quivering from the initial blow and she could feel that her lip was cut open as well.

Whip wouldn't be taken this easily.  She picked herself up rather quickly and looked over at her opponent.  She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ah ha ha ha!"  Joe gestured.  "Ohra – Ohra!!!"  He put a finger in his nose and danced up and down on one leg.

_Why that?!_  Whip cursed.  She shook her head, grabbed her whip tightly and moved forward.  _You'll pay for that!_

Slash after slash, cut after cut.  Whip was a wild dog.  She slapped Joe's surrounding area with a new angered passion.  Leona and the others have never seen her like this.

"Hey – Hey – Hey!"  Joe cried while avoiding the furious slashes.  A few of them connected on various parts of his arms and legs but they didn't have any power to them.  Joe knew that if someone fought with anger and frustration, they weren't fighting at all.  Joe had the advantage and he was going to ride the pony as far as it would go.

Dirt and gravel kicked up from the ground.  That's all that Whip was hitting.  Joe maneuvered way to fast.  When his legs weren't on the offense, they sure helped out his defense.  She had to calm down and she had to do it fast.  All she was doing was swiping a fly swatter at him and it was no wonder he was going down.  She'd have to go for a body part he wouldn't expect immediately.

"Come on…  This is a fight!  Not a workout – HEY!"  Joe flailed as a whip came inches from smacking his face.  Instead, the collided with his bandaged arms and bounced off like rubber.  Joe briefly checked his forearms to see any damage that was sustained but wasn't surprised to see that there was none.

Joe should have been more concerned with the fight that his immediate well being.  Whip used this opportunity with his hands up and his midsection open to lash a deadly strike that left a nice bloody mark where her whip had been.

Whip retracted her weapon and looked over at her opponent.  He put his hands down and smiled at her while knocking on his tight abs.

"You must have not done your research…"  He quipped, "Kick boxers had the strongest stomachs in the world and you thought you'd do some damage to the greatest kick boxer around the world.  Heh…  You're pretty funny…  And you look so cute when you're shocked."  Joe winked.  Whip's eyebrows found themselves pointed in an angered fashion as she prepared to go at him again.

The fight had gone from organized to insane.  It looked like a little girl attack her brother.  Joe was just bating her on and on and she kept coming for him.  It was times like these that separated the experienced fighters from the new ones.

Joe skipped around the fighting square.  He was really having a good time.  Nothing could be better than drain the clock.  He already got in his attacks and by the way of the judges, he'd win by default.  It was all a matter of time.

"Heh heh cutie…  Looks like – AH!"  Joe screamed, his foot dug in a little too deep into the dirt and caused him to stumble.  He took a few secure steps back to regroup his body but that time was all Whip needed to settle down and attack him with a steady mind and clear thoughts.

"Heeyah!!!"  She cried while thrusting her whip low.  It wrapped around Joe's left ankle and it wrapped pretty tight.  He could almost feel the circulation of his blood being cut off from his foot.  This isn't good!  He thought.

Whip yanked her weapon as hard as she could.  Joe went flying and it wasn't Southwest.  He could see the entire construction site from his elevation and he knew that wasn't good.  His body crashed into an unforgiving wall and took his body in like a wet tissue smashing into a garbage disposal.

Joe collapsed onto a pile of _K_ rails; the same ones that Andy hit.  He didn't know what hurt worse, the brick wall or the cement landing.  His slew of taunts were going to stop for now.  At least until he got up.

Whip walked over to the human wreckage.  She smiled inside; seeing her opponent like this always brings a personal cheer inside but this loud mouth was especially asking for it.  She never felt more proud of herself then watching a cockroach squirm with its head cut off.

"You know…  You keep…  Doing things…  Like this," Joe called with pulling himself up from the wreck his body made.  "And you'll…  Start looking…  Less cute."

Whip gasped.  _How the hell can he still be standing?!?!?!_

Joe limped toward whip.  His body was draped in cuts and soon to be bruises.  His neck hurt, his chest hurt, hell even his hair hurt; but that didn't keep that same sly grin from staying on his face.

_He's smiling?!  That guy!!!_

Standing no more than ten meters away, Joe Higashi picked up his heavy and damaged head and got into his fighting stance.  The match wasn't over yet.

"Hey come on…  We've still got a lot more fighting left to do."  Joe taunted.  It was as if he wasn't even hurt although his brain wasn't telling him that same lie.

Whip pulled back.  She'd never seen everyone so determined in her life.  This guy was thrown into a brick wall at a tremendous velocity and then landed on a not so friendly cushion, yet here he was standing up and waiting to go some more.  Her body was paralyzed with lost thoughts.

"Hey…  You want to see my motivation?!"  Joe snapped.

_What the?!  Who is that guy -  HUH?!?!?!_

"ORAHHHHH!"

Whip was blinded. She'd never seen in her life the kind of tactics used in this fight.  Instead of seeing a dramatic comeback attack or even a calm forfeit, she was staring at the washboard ass of Joe Higashi.

_Gotcha!_  "SLASH KICK!"

Those words blasted whip out of her perverse imagination.  She easily caught Joe trying to trick her thoughts and side stepped out of the way.

_Perfect, let's see you avoid this!_  "SCREWWWW!"

_Huh?!_  Whip shouted to herself, she only had seconds to react and thankfully her body reacted out of instinct as her arm shot her whip out on a vertical I-beam and tugged as hard as she could.  _You won't get me this time!_

"UPPERRRR!"  Joe yelled as his self made tornado traveled through the fighting square.  The surrounding winds easily blasted through the outer area as the standby teams were feeling the effects.

"HEEEEYYYY!!!"  Whip screamed while coming down from the sky.  Joe peeked his eyes up moments after he threw the tornado and caught two brown boots aimed straight for his skull.

Joe tasted dirt once more.  He could feel her mass standing on top of his body but not in the way he hoped.  After no longer than a second, the weight was lifted from his body and heard her land a few meters away.

Whip breathed hard.  She'd come so close to defeat and yet here she was standing on her feet while the other was a creamed pile of rubble.  _Stay down!  For the love of God stay down!!!_

Joe didn't move.  The match was over.

Whip sighed.  That was too much for her to handle.  She was a heavily trained assassin, she never fought against someone who just wouldn't die.  She looked up and saw something that wasn't supposed to happen.  He was moving again.

_That guy…  What is with him?!_

"Well…  Look at me…"  Joe hissed while getting up.  "Our hero…  Is totally looking…  Not cool."

Joe stood up and shook the excess dirt off of his body.  Even that hurt.  His heavy arms rose from his sides and he fell once again into his kickboxing stance.

"Orah…"

*TIME OVER*

The fight was officially over.  No matter how bad Joe wanted it he was done; so says the King of Fighters rule book.

"How will I ever…  Live this down?"  Joe smiled, "Beaten by a girl…  And a cute one to boot."

Joe collapsed.  He was finally done.  For today perhaps.  Terry and Blue Mary ran up and picked his body up and took it to where they left Andy.  He was actually looking a lot better that before.  Other than the external damage, Andy moved and felt as if he were a fresh competitor.

"Terry!  Do you want me to take care of him too?"  Mary asked

"No."  Terry calmly stated.

"NO?!"

"Shhh…"  Terry replied.  "I'm going to need you for this one."  Terry began to whisper in Mary's ear.  She was coy at first but then it started to unravel.  Terry had an excellent strategy and they were going to go with it.

After a brief consolation, Terry jumped into the fighter's square.

"Hey!  Come on Come on!!!"

The fight had already started and Whip was a little less than ready.  She was going up against the _Legendary Wolf_ and he was always the hardest to read during a fight.  She was going to have to keep on her toes.

"Power wave!"

Her strategy was well thought out.  She immediately jumped high to avoid the ground blast and prepared herself for the next.

"Burn Knuckle!"

Whip leaped forward again only this time completely cleared the necessary distance and landed where Terry once stood.  As she turned to face her opponent, a sharp sound came from Terry's lips with two fingers shot inside.

_A whistle?  But – huh?!_

Another weight collided with Whip's body and she came crashing into the ground.  It wasn't enough to knock the wind out of her but she was still trapped.  Her arm was caught in something and it wasn't friendly.

*SNAP!*

"AHHHHH!!!"  She was in horrendous pain.  Her hand was tingling like a thousand stabbing needles and she just wanted to tear it out and through it into an abyss.

Whip smacked the intruder with her good free hand and rolled onto a safe location.  She'd fallen into the Terry's trap and she couldn't have been more vulnerable.  The Legendary Wolf was more cunning that she thought.

She stood on her feet and prepared to attack.  "AHHH!"  She cried.  The snap she heard was her wrist and it couldn't have been at the worst time.  She was completely useless now.  Her fight was over.

"That's enough!"  Leona called out.  She walked up and brought Whip back to her corner.  That was the signal of a forfeit.  Whip was in no condition to fight now or for the rest of the tournament perhaps.  There was no point sacrificing a body that can't fight.  It was time to throw in their last fighter.

"Anta, senaka ga susuketeruze…"  Clark taunted.  He pushed his glasses tight to his face and set himself ready to fight.  A smile cracked on Terry's face as he was already hyped up and all of the good juices were flowing.  The final round was underway.

"Come on!  Get serious!"  Terry replied.  Clark was one always to be cool and under control during a fight but that didn't make him strong.  It just made him quite in Terry's eyes.

Terry ran up like a raging bull.  His speed was uncanny at this point.  Since he barely sustained any damage during the last brawl, he was fresh.  Clark's main strength was to attack close and often.  Terry always loved a challenge and so he headed straight into the lion's den.

_Foolish…  You're –_

"POWER CHARGE!"

"ARGH!"  Clark shouted while taking a chest full of shoulder.  His feet picked up from off the ground as his body flew into the opposing corner.  Clark was going to have to do a lot better to even last another minute with last year's King of Fighters champion.

Terry stopped in his tracks.  He saw where Clark had landed and was rather pleased.  The easiest way to throw off an up close fighter was to surprise him and attack him at his strongest offensive point.  No mater how many other King of Fighters tournaments he's been in, Clark will never learn the weaknesses of his style without some tough love.

_Hmph…  And I really wanted a work –_ "OWWWW!"  Cried Terry.  A sharp pain crashed into his back.  He'd been too focused on his opponent to realize that there were really two adversaries in this bout.  The fighter and the striker.

_Leona!_  He shouted while tumbling forward.  Terry rolled a few feet before he stopped himself and left a dusty trail behind him.  Looking up, Terry saw that he had been hit with Leona's drop kick.  He knew she was strong but taking the full force of one of her kicks was unimaginable.  His back wanted to explode but the skin never cracked.  She was definitely an expert assassin.

"I guess I forgot to check my…  Assets against me," Terry joked.  "I think we'd ha – AH!"  Clark's muscular arms wrapped around Terry's body and he squeezed tight.  He wasn't going to let up because Terry wasn't paying attention to him.  In fact, the sooner he got rid of Terry; the better.

Terry squeezed breaths between his clenched teeth.  Clark was a lot stronger than he thought but that was the only thing going for him now.  He was too careless.  He thought by holding your opponent like this would generally deplete his stamina but experienced fighters knew better.  Big guys like him always left the most vulnerable spots on their body open.

*CRACK*

Terry jammed his heel into Clark's kneecap and he screamed like he never did before; right into Terry's ear.  Clark released his grip of Terry to tend to his growing pain but he wasn't going to get off that easy.  Terry grabbed Clark's wailing arm and hip-tossed him into a pile of construction debris.  If Clark thought the previous blow was painful, he was in a world of hurt now.

Terry's breathing returned to normal.  Clark wouldn't be able to fully recover from an attack like that but Terry knew better.  One last blow would be all that it would take to end the fight and put the victory in his corner.

He began to focus his ki.  His right arm was feeling strong and that's exactly what he needed to finish off Clark.

*SMASH*

_Huh?!_  Terry shot in his mind.  Clark made a mad dash from under the rubble and lunged for Terry.  If he'd been a second sooner, he might have had a chance.

"POWER GEYSER!"

*          *          *          *          *

"OKAYYYYYYYY!"  Terry screamed while tossing his hat into the air.  Fans in the South Town arena cheered.  The fight was long and strenuous for the fighters but the viewers enjoyed every minute of it.  King of Fighters had jumped off to a tremendous start.

The camera panned on Terry.  After a few moments of waves and smiles, he picked up his hat and walked towards the camera.

"Now you know my strength…"  Terry stated.  "Next time prepare yourself."  His smile carried throughout the multiple screens in the arena.  South Town's hero had made his city proud.

"Terry!"  Andy shouted.  Terry turned his view from the cameras.

"Yea Andy?"

"Let's hurry to the other construction site…"

"But why?"  Joe said coming from the background.  He was, like Andy, looking a lot better.  His tone was also coming back to its classic Joe sound.

Terry looked at his brother and nodded.  They both began to walk out of the fighting square looking to leave Mary and Joe behind.

"Other construction site…"  Joe sighed.  "Why do we have to go there?"

Mary pondered through the possibilities but it didn't take long for her to come up with a conclusion.  "The Female Fighters Team is currently battling there…"

"All right Andy!!!!"  Joe cheered.  "It's about time he started chasing some tail!"

"Joe…  Did you forget?"

"Forget what…?"

*          *          *          *          *

"ANDDDDYYYYYYY!!!"  Mai cried.  Her body crashed onto the ground and made a sickening thud.  Burn marks scar her body on various locations but none of them look too bad.  Her body was in bad shape and she knew she wasn't going to finish this fight.

"MAI!"  Andy shouted while running up.  He brushed passed the fallen members of the Female Fighters team and held the fallen Shiranui in his arms.

"Mai…  Are you…  Are you ok?"

Mai opened her eyes.  She saw exactly who she wanted to see and smile.  Her face had been scratched but that didn't take away from her natural beauty.  "A – Andy…  I…  I…"

"Shh…  Don't speak Mai," Andy replied while placing his hand over her mouth.  Her eyes retreated to the back of her head and she collapsed into unconciousness.  Andy was pissed.

"Bastard!  Who did this?!"  He was furious and he had a right to be.  Whoever did this went too far.  They beat her up because they wanted to.  She didn't deserve this kind of treatment.

"If you don't know how you win, buzz off!"  Yelled Mai's victor.  Andy looked over and saw the smug face of K' as he put his sunglasses on and played off the whole encounter like it meant nothing to him.

Andy's anger cringed to the center of his face.  His eyebrows twitched as well as his nose.  That bastard!  "ZANEI – !"

"HOLD IT!"  Terry's arm grabbed onto Andy's shoulder before he even got a chance to strike at K'.  "Calm down Andy.  This is not the time."

Andy didn't have a response.  There were no words to fully distress his emotions.

"You better listen to your brother…"  K' responded while putting out the flame in his hand.  "He just saved your life."

"You…!"  Andy yelled but was immediately pulled back by his brother.  Terry moved forward to confront the loud mouth who kept pushing his brother's temper.  Terry looked into K''s eyes and didn't dare blink.

"Make a move Bogard."

"I thought you had enough last year…"

K's smirk dropped to a heinous snarl.  He didn't like hearing about the past and especially after his defeat to Terry in the sewers.  He wanted to blow Terry up in a rage of flames but he had more control than that.  He simple put his hand in his pocket and walked off.

Before he got out of hearing distance, K' turned his head and looked Terry straight in the eye.  "Be there tomorrow Bogard.  You're gonna wish I was as lenient as last year!"  And with that, the Hero team was out of sight.

Terry remained still.  They were going to be a tough team to face but Terry had confidence on his side.  Looking back at his team's last performance, they were going to need a whole lot of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"WHAT?!"  Ryo shouted.

"That is right…  You are the striker Ryo," Takuma responded.  He'd never seen his soon this upset over a decision like this but it was for his best interest.

"Forget it!  I'm going to fight!"

"Look at yourself Ryo!"  Takuma snapped back, "You can't even control your own emotions…  How will you ever control your body in a fight?!"

Ryo didn't respond.  He just turned away from his father and let the floor take the rest of his angered expression.  He knew his dad was right, he knew he was way out of focus but he just couldn't bring himself to admit it.

"King!"  Takuma called.

"Yes sir!"  She responded snapping out of her daze.  She knew she'd been staring at Ryo too long but she just couldn't help it.  He wasn't himself recently.

"You're going first."

King nodded.  Physically she was ripped and raring to go but her mentality wasn't in the right place.  Her concern was faced over the past events of the week and the woman in her wanted to sit down and work out the problems but the fighter in her said screw then, fight now!

"Right!"  King jumped into the fighting square.  The South Town aquarium might not have been the best choice for a battle but it did provide nice scenery for the fans in the arena.

Her opponent, the short and very deadly Choi Bounge.  He was known for the claws on his hands but his real strength was his size.  Large opponents didn't stand a chance.  By the time their fist was thrown, Choi was on the opposite side slashing at their back.  His speed training is thanks to Kim.  It was more of a forced training exercise than anything else but his skills did show the clarity in Kim's teachings.

Choi entered the fighting square spinning like a dancer.  He always liked to show off just a little bit before the fight so he could entertain the fans just before he cut into his opponent like a child tearing through presents at Christmas.

King looked at Choi and stated, "Come on baby…"  Afterwards, she put up her fighting stance as round one was about to commence.

Choi didn't give an inch.  He jumped right for king hacking and slashing with all of the power his arms had.  King never had to put up a defensive like the one she had to now.  She'd seen Kasumi take on Choi before but her style was to absorb and attack and use that energy against them in her own attack.  Kick boxing wasn't that patient.

"Trap Shot!"  King shouted while flipping backwards.  Choi was wise to her game and it only took little effort on his part to step back and then start again.

King was getting frustrated.  She was used to blocking attacks and now she could take even the strongest of punches but everyone knew it wasn't wise to try to block ten stabbing knives.  There was no way she was going to get anywhere on the defensive, she had to take advantage of the situation.  Choi had already taken that path and more.

"AH!!"  She screamed as three of Choi's blade's caught King's arm and ripped the fine suit.  There was no time to check on the wound, she was going to have to back him off.

"Trap Shot!"

Choi took a step back with his eyes closed.  This was getting too easy for him.  He cracked a smile for the camera just before a white and purple shoe cracked him in the nose.

"KIYAAHH!" He shouted while rolling backwards.  He didn't expect that.  When he finally stopped, King looked over at him smiling and he realized what had happened.  Instead of going for an attack, she just yelled it out and he got so confident in his prior knowledge that he failed to realize opposing strategies.

King was glad to get a second or two to herself.  She checked out her arms that Choi scratched and was completely shocked.  The initial attack hurt but on her arm there wasn't anything but a scratch.  There was no trace of blood anywhere.  She even poked at it and couldn't feel anything that could be considered pain.

_Wow…_  She thought to herself.  She made a mental note to thank Takuma for the intense training.

_Don't forget Ryo and the healing solution!_

_Oh yea_…  She remembered.  _Tha – _

_Watch out!_

"AHHHH!!!"

Choi's foot found its way to King's jaw as he back-flipped forward.  King was brought back but only a few feet.  Choi's kicks were tough but not that tough.

King put her stance up immediately but Choi hadn't landed yet.  That was his strategy.  His claws came down waiting to rip up King's face like the deranged prisoner he once was.

The aquarium tile was sliced open.  Ceramic bits flew into the air and Choi's claws are now sunk into the ground.  He tried furiously to pull them out but his strike was a lot stronger than he initially thought.  King saw the opportunity and went for it.

"TORNADO KICK!"

Choi was shot backwards.  His body smacked a hard aquarium wall and any insight onto how tough those walls had to be to support all of that water was now answered.

King stood strong.  She got a very powerful kick in and it would only take another one of those to knock him out of the fight.  Short guys like him always lacked stamina.  She was in plenty of bar fights to prove that theory.

"Venom Strike!"

King's blue ki strike headed right towards Choi.  His head snapped up and his body answered the emergency call.  The ki blast smacked the aquarium wall but didn't do much damage.  The wall was a lot stronger than she thought.

Choi flew towards King like a missile, both claws forward and spinning like a torpedo blade.  King swayed to the left and just barely missed being a skewer for a Korean barbeque.

_Huh?!_  She cursed.  Choi kept on flying onto another wall without remorse.

*SMASH*

The ground King stood on shook with a furious temperament.  Directly behind her Jhun struck her with an earthquake kick.  Choi bounced off of the wall and came at her again with the same attack.  Jhun had done his part making him an excellent striker and now it was Choi's turn to finish the job.

"AAAAHHHH!!"  King cried.  She felt her chest explode into tiny little pieces but her body wasn't the one that got torn to shreds.  Bits of her jacket and shirt danced in front of her, just like they did years ago.  She fell to the ground and wrapped her arms over her exposed chest.  There was no exact nudity but it was still embarrassing enough to make her want to cry.  Not only that, but everyone in South Town arena could now see the great fighter reduced to a crying weak woman.

"HAOU!!!!"

What the?!  Choi thought after recovering from his attack.

"SHOUKOUKEN!!!!"

*          *          *          *          *

"Hey man!  What gives!!!!"  An angry fan shouted.

"YEA!  It was just getting good!"  Another responded.  The fans were complaining about the fact that one of the cameras suddenly turned to snow.  The fight had stopped in the arena but the real action was in the aquarium.

"Where the hell is the backup camera?!"  One of the coordinators snapped.  He pulled on the shirt of his assistant as he tried to explain the situation as organized as he could.

"He's – He's setting up…  Right now sir!"

"Then what happened to the first one?!?!"  The coordinator shot while throwing off his assistant's shirt.

The assistant coughed a bit from the relief of the situation and spoke, "Sir, he reported that he…  He…  Got a little too involved in the action.  Sir."

"What?!"

"Yes sir!"  The assistant defended.  "He said his camera stopped functioning moments before the interruption…  Then…"

"Then…  WHAT?!"

"The…  The camera was…  Smashed into pieces."

*          *          *          *          *

King was pulled to the Art of Fighting corner.  Her breathing had been growing heavier by the second.  Choi was standing one minute and then the next he was gone.  He had to be pulled off of the aquarium wall after the impression he made.  If the walls were that tough, she hated to be Choi right now.  Then again, it wasn't so great being herself.

"King…?  King!"  Ryo shouted.  She almost seemed catatonic.  Ryo pulled his face towards her and yelled again.  "KING!"

_Huh?_  She shook her head.  "R – Ryo…"  She said, then the reality of the situation finally hit her and she closed up her chest with both arms, trying to hide her exposed body but she didn't have to try very hard.  Ryo's gi took care of that.  He draped it on her immediately after Choi went down.

"Wh – What happened?"  She asked while standing up.  She looked around and saw the camera pointed at the scene.  King pulled behind Ryo, shivering.

Ryo smiled.  "It's ok…  I took care of it," He stated while pointing to the smashed camera debris.

King felt a great weight lifted off of her chest, even though it was still draped in Ryo's gi.  The embarrassment was subsided and the even can be forgotten for good.

"Way to go Ryo!"  Robert added.  "Nice way to knock him out of a fight and into a freaking wall!"

Ryo looked over and saw his friend's standard grin.  There was no surprise over there.

"Ryo!"

"Sir!"  Ryo said while turning around.

"Round two is about to start.  Step back."

"Yes sir," he replied feeling less content than he did a moment ago.

"King," Takuma started.

"Yes sir," she answered.

"You stay out as well.  You've done your part.  I am pleased with the results."

King's smile diminished to a frown.  She hadn't really done anything.  Ryo was the one who took him out so she had no idea why she was the one receiving praise.  Sure she wanted to go in there again but not dressed like this.  Tomorrow was a new day and she was going to have to wait until then.  That is…  If there is a tomorrow for her and her team.

The heavy hitter of Team Korea, Chang Koehan.  He was big, strong, and could take the strongest attacks without even blinking an eye.

His opponent was the famous Takuma Sakazaki.  Most fighters who even got to Takuma cringed in fear.  He was an expert fighter analyzer and the only living master of Kyokugen karate which is arguably the strongest fighting style in the world today.  His age was a downfall to his speed but whatever he lacked, he made up for in strategy and power.

Takuma stepped into the fighting square where Chang awaited.  He was preoccupied for the previous moment, sticking his finger up his nose and doing a short treasure hunt but all he found was a little waste.  Round two had begun.

"Kououken!"  Takuma wasted no time.  The only way to fight a slow opponent was hit him at a distance and then work your way inside.  If you did it right, the slow opponent's stamina would be greatly depleted and make his offense a lot weaker than it could have been.

Chang took the full blast right in the belly.  It hurt, but he didn't even flinch.   He's had indigestion that gave him more grief than that attack but no where near as annoying.  Chang began to charge at Takuma swinging around his massive iron weight that won him a lot of battles.

Takuma swayed and evaded each strike.  Chang was quick but not quick enough.  He moved that ball faster than any man Takuma had ever seen but carrying that much weight always slowed you down somehow.

Takuma could feel himself backing up into a wall.  He only had a few more steps left before he'd be cornered and Chang was an expert in beating immobile opponents.  His size in a corner always spelt trouble.  Takuma knew he had to stop this onslaught soon because he'd let Chang wear himself out long enough.

Chang took a big swing and thrusted his black weight forward.  Even if Takuma blocked it he'd be sent into the wall.  There was no escape now.

"Migitawa!"

Chang's ball bounced off Takuma's arm like rubber.

"SHYA!"

Takuma's fist found its way to Chang's body but not in the gut.  He knew Chang could take a few blows in the midsection before feeling the effects so he went for the money hit.  A direct blow in the sternum could knock the wind out of any opponent and send them to the ground.

Mission accomplished.  Chang reeled backwards like a lost little boy.  He had no idea where he was or what he was doing.  The only thing that rang in his mind was pain!

"Hein Shippu Kyaku!"  Takuma kept coming after Chang.  One thing he learned was never let your opponent catch their breath while they were standing.  They had plenty of time to do that on the ground.

Chang's body got a new definition of anguish as both kicks landed on his bearded chin and sent his body crashing on the hard ceramic floor.

"Kagatekuna…"  Takuma taunted while raising both arms up and down.  If someone wanted to parade around acting all big and bad, they better have something to back that up or else they shouldn't even step into the ring.

Chang lifted his heavy body from the cold tile floor.  He was in pain and his stagger didn't tell any lies.  Chang could barely keep his head up and he hadn't even laid a finger on his opponent.  The only thing he could to do stop the suffrage of pain was to wait out the rest of the fight and make sure that Takuma has no way in finishing it.

Chang swung his iron ball into the air as fast as he could.  The revolutions held a marvelous velocity that was even affecting the other fighters.  Chang knew that an old man like him couldn't break through this defense.

Takuma analyzed the situation.  After timing the movements of the ball he only had one option left.  He was going to have to move in fast and time it just right.  Takuma smiled and dashed forward.

_Dummy – ARGH!!!_  Chang shouted to himself.  Takuma latched his body to his head and threw an onslaught of knees straight to Chang's head.  Chang saw his vision get blurry and just before it was lights out; he felt one last kick straight in his jaw.

Chang collapsed on the ground.  His fight was finished.  Kim and Jhun grabbed his heavy mass and pulled him to their corner.  After the brief weight training exercise, Kim stepped into the ring and prepared himself for the fight.  He was bound to prove that Tae Kwon Do was more than just a sport.

Kim lurched forward and began his onslaught of kicks.  Takuma wasn't near Kim's level of speed so he was forced to block rather than dodge.  Takuma's muscular arms took a lot of punishment but the real pain were those few kicks that landed in his midsection and ribs.

Kim threw his leg up and was prepared to smash it down.  If he were a more experienced fighter, he would know never let a master get a second to breathe.

Takuma grabbed Kim by the gi and slammed him into the ground.  Kim's body bounced a couple of times on the hard tile before he stopped and sprung to his feet.  _That's what I get for fighting a master._

"Kououken!"

Takuma's ki blast traveled straight for Kim but was luckily avoided.  Tae Kwon Do didn't have any projectile attacks so all he could do was block or avoid.

That didn't stop Kim from rushing forward.  Takuma saw the quickness in the young fighter and did the same.  Kim's only chance was to try and out think a master.

"Hijahhh!"  Kim cries as he slid on the ground.  He was thinking smart for a change.  Takuma had gone high and Kim went low.  Takuma's body flew in the air but came crashing down after Kim gave him a heel strike right in the bread basket.

It was Takuma's turn to face the cold tile floor.  He smacked it pretty hard and it slightly knocked the wind out of him but that wasn't enough to stop the master of Kyokugen Karate.  Takuma rolled up and bounced right back on his feet.  The fight was just beginning.

Kim leaped into the air and came down with deadly strikes.  Every one connected on Takuma's forearms but never landed in the money zone.  Takuma struck at Kim's chest with a heavy fierce punch but Kim's hands were as quick as his feet as he caught Takuma's arm and thrusted a front kick of his one.

That sent Takuma back a few steps.  The only time Takuma had trouble in the ring was when he was dealing with speedsters.  He easily overpowered the powerful and the average fell to his might at almost the same ratio.  It was a little difficult dealing with someone who was both quick and strong.

Kim leaped forward with one knee into the air.  It was time for his Hou ou kyaku.

*CRACK*

Apparently Takuma was a fine actor.  Kim ran straight into a clothesline.  His head ricocheted off of the mat with a sickening thud and his body was nearly motionless.

Takuma threw his fist down at Kim but stopped inches from his face.  Kim had suffered more than enough after the hit on the hard tile floor.  There was no way he was going to be able to continue.

The judges concurred.  The winners of the fighter were the Art of Fighting Team.

*          *          *          *          *

The fans in the South Town arena exploded.  Two of their hometown heroes had made it through the first round and that was a sign of good luck.  South Town finally has something to celebrate.

The camera shot a close up on the winner of the fight.  Takuma looked into the camera, expressing no emotion and said, "Their fight is finished.  This shows you that there is no art that can even compare to Kyokugen."

Fans roared after the spiel.  Many would flock after today to the Kyokugen dojo to sign up but would be heartbroken to realize that it is closed during the King of Fighters tournament.  All in all, this was a good day for South Town.

*          *          *          *          *

Back at home, King and Robert stood in the kitchen.  Robert had a nice cold glass of scotch in his hands, priding himself for a job well done even though he really didn't do a thing to earn their victory.  But in his mind, so long as he was there, he participated.

King had just put away a fresh batch of mochi.  Ryo had been overworked, today especially and he needed something to calm him down.  They had one fight down and there was only two more to go.  Everyone should have been in high spirits but the general mood for the house was pretty dim.

"FINE!!!"  Ryo shouted slamming open the door to the dojo and smashing it closed.  He walked straight past Robert and King without even a word or a glance and entered the garage, slamming the door as he fell from vision.

King looked over with a worried expression.  This scene wasn't a good sign.

*          *          *          *          *

Ryo began to crank random bolts on his motorcycle.  He always made sure to do anything major on a clear head but only take out his aggression on random tune ups.

The door opened.  Ryo wanted to look up and see who it was but that thought got diminished as he continued to focus on his motorcycle.

"Ryo…"

_King_ he thought.  _Why now?!_

"Yea," he replied sounding not so happy to see her.

"Is…  Is there anything wrong?"  She calmly asked.

"No, everything is perfect.  Life is grand…"  Ryo replied making sure to sound sarcastic.  "Is that all?"

King's worry turned to anger.  If he was mad fine but to say something like that to her unprovoked just wasn't right.  She didn't like the way Ryo was acting and was damn sure to tell him about it.

"What's the matter with you Ryo?!"

_What?_  He said stopping his tune up.  "What was that?"

"Why are acting like such a jerk?"

_I'm surprised you didn't hear the conversation in the dojo _Ryo thought.  _Conversation, more like lecture!!!_

"That's none of your business!"  Ryo snapped.  "Go bother Robert if you want to talk.  I'm busy!"

_Busy?!  That jerk!_  "What?!  Ryo!"

Ryo didn't answer.  He went straight back to working on his bike.  If the conversation continued, he knows that he's going to say something he'll regret later.

King stood back.  She was furious.  She was livid.  She almost reached all aspects of the anger emotions but before she wanted to go forward and give Ryo a verbal lashing she caught a glimpse of his eyes.

They were shaking. The windows to his soul were vibrating like an earthquake.

_Ryo…_  King thought.  She wanted to reach out to him.  Outside, he was quite and angry, inside, he was feeling like garbage.

King didn't say another word.  She walked forward and placed a plate of mochi right next to Ryo without even looking at him.  Then, she walked out without even giving him a second glance.

The door shut with a silent thud.  Ryo stopped working on his bike.  Directly to his right was the plate that King left.  He sighed.

"I'm sorry King…"  He whispered.  "I guess I'm not strong enough yet."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  WOAH!  Justice!  The fic has started the beginning of the end.  Round one went off with a bang and round 2 looks to provide even more entertainment.  I'm a very sorry for the delay of this chapter and the last one but unfortunately I started my summer job on Monday and it's an 8 to 5 gig.  I'm going home this weekend so I'll have plenty of time to relax and punch out another good chapter.

Story Notes:

- Japanese text:  I wanted to keep in game speech true in its form so all taunts and round entrances have been preserved.  I would like to thank Gunsmith for his translation guide found at .

Well that's it for now.  I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapters as I did writing it.  Keep up the reviews guys.  Your reviews are my motivation.  Don't be shy, the more I know how you're thinking, the more I can adjust to make the fic as enjoyable as possible.  I know this fic isn't as popular as some of the other one's that involve K' and Kyo but I'm going to continue writing because this is where my heart is.  Writing about the original SNK characters.  Well, see you guys next chapter.)


	10. Chapter 9: King of Fighters Tournament R...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 9:  King of Fighters Round 2**

The South Town streets were quite today.  Everybody who's anybody is sitting inside the South Town arena or at home watching on Pay Per View.  They are eagerly awaiting the start of the semifinals of the King of Fighters tournament and after yesterday's blockbuster show, the adrenaline was running high.

Terry Bogard and 'Blue' Mary Ryan happened to be walking down these very streets today.  They were on their way to the next fight location which happened to be on the South Town pier, a place that is well known to both of them, so they could just take their time and enjoy the clear air.

"Terry…?"  Mary asked.  They had pretty much been silent the entire way over here and it wasn't helping Mary.  She kind of had a feeling that Terry let her sit out last round because he didn't want her to get hurt but then again, he was Terry Bogard, a man of changing personalities.

"Yea Mary?"  He said with a smile.  There was nothing wrong with his tone.  He sounded like he would any other day, King of Fighters going on or not.

"Why…  Did you have me sit out the first match?"  She pondered.  She also made sure not to change her tone in any way.

Terry's smile grew a bit bigger.  He knew that was on her mind, he could see it in her eyes since yesterday.  "Hmph.  Well, you were much more useful as a striker that you would be a competitor."

_More useful?  Does that mean I would have been_ useless _as a fighter?!_  "A – A – A…"

Terry started laughing.  Not just a regular chuckle but a full gut busting reaction.  Mary looked at him and stopped in her tracks.  Her face was becoming as red as her shirt.

After walking almost an additional ten feet away, Terry stopped and realized that Mary had stopped right where he started laughing.  Anton was having a tough time finding out what was wrong with Mary as he began to circle her and wag his tail.

Terry turned and walked back towards her.  He put his hand on her shoulder but her eyes still remained pointed towards the ground.

"Mary…  It was only a joke."

"Then…  W – why?"

"Because…  I didn't want anything to happen to you before today's fight."

"Wha – What?"  She looked back up at him.  His blue eyes stared sincerely back at hers saying that he was telling no lie.

"It's time for you to step up to the plate…"

Mary smiled.  She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss those soft lips of his but she knew better than that.  Messing with emotions during a fight was a big no – no for both of them.  They were still very sensitive when it came to that subject.

"Grrrrrr…"  Anton growled.  Terry knew the keen senses of man's best friend and with a reaction like that from a generally playful dog, it didn't sound good

Mary could feel it to.  Something wasn't right about the situation.  She started looking around.  They were almost close to the bay so maybe there was an animal that Anton saw that he didn't know.  Either way, they needed to find out soon.

"Mary!"  Terry called.  He looked toward where Anton was growling and saw something that really confused him.

"Yea?"  She responded.

"What's today's temperature?"

"Huh?"  Mary wondered why Terry would ask that but instead of questioning it further she looked at her watch that had built in handy thermostat.  "It's eighty-eight degrees Terry.  Pretty hot if you ask me."

"Look…"  He said while pointing towards the sight.  Mary obliged and saw something she never thought to see, a small puddle of water sitting in the gutter that was frozen solid.

Mary looked back up at Terry, a lot more worried than she was before.  "Terry!"

"Let's go Mary…"  Terry stated while moving forward.  "We don't have much time."

*          *          *          *          *

The pier was quite.  Even the birds that flew by remained silent.  The water that rustled on the sea shore played gently like a soothing baby melody.  This was the perfect day for the average person.  K' was nothing like that.

He paced back and forth through the fighting square with his hand in his pocket.  Maxima, Vanessa, and Ramon were also on hand but they weren't too concerned with their captain's current status.

K' was just short of pissed off.  They were waiting there for a whole five minutes and only half of the opposing team showed up.  It would have been fine with K' on normal occasions but the one member he was gunning for just happened not to be her at this time.

Joe and Andy sat in their opposing corner also waiting.  The fight was set to begin in only five minutes and Terry and Mary haven't even arrived.  Andy knows his brother always liked to make an entrance but after the incident yesterday, he thought his brother would be a little wiser.

"What's taking Terry so long?"  Joe asked making sure to keep his voice low enough so the other team won't hear.

Andy shook his head.  He had no idea nor did he really care for the moment.  He was still furious at K' for what he did to Mai yesterday.  Andy wanted in the fight and he wanted it bad.

"Hey guys!"  Called a female voice from the docks.  All fighters paid attention to that yell.  Joe felt a sigh of relief as he saw Mary and Terry approached the fighting square.

"What took you?"  Andy scornfully asked.  His tone was dark and full of anger.

Terry just smiled and looked at his brother, "Mary said she felt like an iced mocha…"

"Terry!"  She replied feeling bad that he slammed the blame on her.  She looked over at Terry and he gave her a small wink once no one was looking.  It was then she knew what Terry meant by his _iced_ comment.

"Well alright then!"  Joe cheered, "What's the battle plan Terry?"

"Alright…  Mary's going in first."

"Got it!"  She replied.

"I'm going second," Terry stated.

_Saving my revenge for last…_  Andy thought.

"Joe, You're third."

"What?!"  Andy responded.  "Terry!"

"Forget it Andy.  Look at yourself.  You know damn well you're in no condition to fight!"

Andy growled while grinding his teeth.  "So what do you suppose I do until then?!"  Andy hissed as if he didn't know the concept of the striker.  He was sidelined and he was pissed; Terry must have had some kind of plan up his sleeve to set Andy off like that.

"Let's go chico…"  Ramon taunted while stepping into the fighting square.  He was very muscular for his size and had one of the weirdest fighting stances.

"Terry…"  Mary whispered, "Who is this guy?"

Terry stared him down; the way he moved, his swagger, his fighting stance.  Terry shook his head, "Not too sure myself but he looks like a grappler."

"A grappler?  But he's too small," Mary responded.

"Look's can be deceiving.  Go get him Mary!"

Mary smiled, "Right!"  She stepped into the fighting square and threw her green jacket into the air "Anton!"  She called and her trusty companion ran up and swiped it before it hit the ground.

"Are you ready?"  Mary asked while pointing her finger.  Ramon didn't say a word; he just grinned and got into his unique fighting stance.  The fight had begun.

Mary began to walk around the fighting square as did Ramon.  Ramon's stance was very original as far as Mary was concerned.  He moved like a boxer but the way his arms were positions told a different story.

After the small sizing up period, Ramon attacked.  He leaped from his standing position and flew like a bird in the air.  His body was spread out and he looked like he was ready to splash right on top of Mary.

_A cross-body-block?  That's only used in…  HUH?!_ Mary gasped as she dove out of the way.  He was a lot quicker than she initially thought.  Mary dove away from the flying Ramon and quickly landed on her feet.  She looked over at Ramon and he was face down on the pier.  _Is he done?_  She thought.

Ramon jumped back on his feet.  He looked to perfectly fine after he dusted himself off.  He looked over at Mary wondering why she had such a confused expression on her face.

_This guy's a wrestler!  Only they could take that kind of punishment and walk away from it_ Mary thought and then she put up her guard.  Wrestlers were a wily bunch.  They were quick, powerful, and had the stamina of ten regular men.  There was a long road ahead before he went down.

Ramon dashed forward running at full speed.  He leaped into the air and kicked both feet forward.  A classic wrestling drop kick that was executed with perfection.

Mary took the kick straight in the arms and was pushed back.  His strength was unremarkable for a man of his size so she made a special note not to underestimate him; just as Terry said.

After regaining balance, Mary saw that Ramon was not letting up.  He started throwing a volley of kicks and punches, each one connected but not in the sweet spots.  Mary took a bruising to her arms but remained cool.  They haven't reached the hard fight yet.

Ramon swung his arm around hoping to clothesline Mary but all he nailed was empty air.  "You're one tough lady but I'm done playing around," he stated and before his second breath took place he dove after Mary.

Mary timed the attack perfectly; going high was Ramon's mistake.  She set up her defense to catch his arms and get him in an arm bar.  That would only work if Ramon followed through.

Ramon flipped forward and slid right under Mary's legs.  Mary was completely dumbfounded and before she knew it there was a fist slammed directly into her gut.  She spit forward in agony.  Even lying down, Ramon punches hard.  He continued the sweep under her legs and pulled one of her arms with him.

Mary somersaulted to the ground.  It hurt but not as bad as the punch.  When she opened her eyes, Ramon was already on his feet and ready to continue his attack.

He pulled Mary by the head, clenching her blonde hair and immediately dunked it under his arm.  He latched his free arm onto her belt and lifted with all his might.

Mary's back crashed onto the ground once again.  She was in a new world of hurt.  Her spine smashed so hard her legs almost went numb.  Mary made sure never to doubt the strengths of wrestlers again.

Ramon backed off and prepared for another attack.  He knew a body splash would knock the wind out of her and if she wouldn't get up in ten seconds, she would be out of the fight.  _This was too easy…_  He leaped into the air as high as he could and spread his body like an eagle ready to pounce on its prey.

Mary was a veteran.  She knew better than to be lying down on the job.  "Vertical Arrow!"  She cried.

Ramon's jaw was singing the song of pain.  He came at full velocity right into Mary's foot and the resulting sound could prove his cries.  The worst part was his mouth was wide open in true wrestler fashion.  He knew this wasn't the time to be acting like that but when the adrenaline hits you, there's only one way you can go.

Ramon landed on the ground but not as hard as he could have.  He was lucky that she only got in that one hit or his fight would have ended right there.  After a few stretches of his neck and another feel of his jaw, Ramon set up his stance and he was ready to go.

_Why didn't she follow up?_  He pondered.  Wrestling's key strength was to never let your opponent have a chance to breathe.  _What kind of fighting is she into?_

Mary followed around him, waiting for another opportunity to attack.  She knew Ramon would have to come in close once again to attack.  She was still feeling the effects of the suplex but it wasn't anything major.  There was plenty of fight still left in her.

Ramon moved in and began throwing a slew of kicks and punches.  Mary moved back and blocked and dodged every one of Ramon's attacks.  He wanted to find out just what kind of fighter she was and this was the only way to go.

Every attack was coming almost in sync with one another.  Mary memorized the pattern after a few more punches and went in.  She blocked a front kick from Ramon and tripped him with a back-sweep.  They both collapsed to the ground but Mary had a firm grip on his leg in an ankle lock and pulled until she heard a crack.

_That's it!  She counters_!  Ramon thought.  He sized up her face for one good boot and planted his green shoes right in her cheek.  She let go of his legged and rolled away far enough to where she could regroup.

Ramon's ankle hurt.  There was no break but she pulled hard enough to leave it sprained.  His stance became jittered and there was no more hopping.  He was running out of steam.

Mary was also feeling the effects of the attacks.  She put her hand on her cheek and could feel the swelling begin.  It wasn't as bad as she thought but she'd definitely have to ice if overnight if she didn't want it to show tomorrow.  More importantly, she felt that Ramon had figured her out.  In an ankle lock, it only took a few seconds before she'd hear a snap no matter how strong the ankle was.  Plus, the initial shock of the situation usually allowed for a ten to fifteen second recovery time.  Ramon had her number so now she had to go on the offensive.

Mary took up a dash and immediately slid to the ground.  Ramon looked at her kind of funny because this was the exact move he did on her.

_Stupid woman!  What is she doing?!_  He thought as his short legs took him airborne.  He used all of his might and got a lot higher than he expected.  She flipped forward and prepared to land a missile dropkick on his landing.

Mary stopped her slide as soon as she saw him jump in the air.  _Perfect!_  She said as she followed him up only she was more prepared than he was.

_What the?!_  Ramon cursed as he turned and saw Mary grab him by the waste and dragged him down to the ground.

*CRACK*

"ARRRRGGH!"  He cried as his shoulder was plowed straight into Mary's knee.  It was a pain he never felt before.  He didn't even have the strength to roll away.  He just sat there on his knees, holding his shoulder as if it were about to explode.

Mary didn't give him a chance to recuperate.  She grabbed him by the shoulders, making sure to squeeze the injured one especially tight and spun him as fast as she could.

"WO – WO – WOAH!"  He cried as the whole pier became one big blur.  His body was being lifted from the ground and he couldn't believe it.  He didn't like where this was going.

Mary let go and flung him as far as his body would carry.  Oddly enough, she timed it just right or by freak accident that his back smashed into one of the docked ships and left a not so friendly dent.  Ramon's body fell into the water like a ton of bricks.

She became a bit worried after that.  He could drown if he was unconscious.  She looked over to where Ramon landed and let out a big sigh.  Luckily, the ship was close to shore so Ramon was sitting in the water with his head sunk only inches from the surface.  There was no other movement.

"Way to go Mary!!!"  Joe cheered.  Terry smiled and looked at her.  She returned Terry's smile and pointed a finger gun right at his heart.

"Bakue!"  She said with a kiss.

Joe looked over at Terry with raised eyebrows and a much bigger grin.  "Way to go Terry!"  He whispered in his ear.  Terry nodded and waved his head, mentally telling Mary that there were two more opponents left to fight.

She turned around and saw the only other woman in this match, Vanessa pumping her fists and raring to go.

_A boxer…  She'll be a lot quicker than the first one_ she thought.  There were a few gashes on her body from the previous fight but all in all she was still in pretty good shape.  This fight will be a test of her endurance.

"GO!"  Vanessa cried as soon as she saw Mary was ready.  She ran towards Mary and began to duck and weave.

_Damn she's fast!_  Mary thought.  She was on her guard and tried to discern Vanessa's moves.  She was just too fast.

Mary tried to catch on of her fists but ended up taking one in the chest.  Another soon came to the gut and a follow up to the chin.  Mary was reeling but wasn't out of the clear yet.  Vanessa kept up like a true boxer would and continued the pounding until her opponent fell.

Vanessa went low and rocked Mary's stomach with a combination of lefts and rights.  A following uppercut sent Mary to the ground.  Her whole body was wrecked in pain and she had no idea where to go from here.

The red-haired boxer back off for the moment.  "Is that all you've got?"  She fiercely asked.  "Why are you wasting my time?!"

That pissed Mary off.  Ok, she'd been knocked down but that didn't mean the fight was over.  What heightened the anger was the fact that she heard it from a woman.  A man yeah, she's heard it before, but a woman.  Mary felt she was second to none in her gender.

Mary jumped from her resting position and got into her ready stance.  Vanessa's frown turned into a smile.  She wanted to get a nice workout before the real fights started so maybe this blonde vixen would give it to her.

Vanessa pumped and faked back and forth, dancing circles around Mary.  When she thought she did it long enough to confuse Mary, she began the attack.

*SMACK*

Vanessa was taken right off of her feet and landed straight on her back.  Mary jumped on top of her and swung around to the right side while wrapping both arms around her neck.  She squeezed hard enough to cut the flow of air from Vanessa's body and kicked her aside.  Vanessa rolled away hoping to avoid further attack.  It never came.

Vanessa stood on her knees coughing like a sick child.  Another second and she would have been out cold.  She couldn't believe that she was taken down so easily.

"This isn't a boxing match!"  Mary taunted as she stood in front of the kneeling Vanessa, "You better learn how to fight at all angles!"

It was Vanessa's turn to be upset.  She was never bested in a toe-to-toe fight but King of Fighters wasn't a toe-to-toe game.  She was going to have to change her game if she wanted to keep up with someone like Mary.

Vanessa sprung up and came out fists-a-blazing.  Every punch was like a message saying _eat your words bitch!_ and she wanted to imprint them on every part of Mary's body.

Mary blocked and swayed from the attacks for the moment.  That's all she pretty much could do.  Vanessa was moving way too fast for her to try and counter.  She sensed that she went a little over the line with that last comment.

_Damnit!  Stop standing there!  FIGHT!_  Mary swore.  The only thing that can dismount a good offense is a great offense.

*SMASH*

Mary drove her knuckles right into Vanessa's face.  Her head snapped backwards as if it were about to come right off.  Mary was about to follow up before she caught that Vanessa had already regained her stability and followed up a counter attack.

*SMACK*

*SMASH*

*CRACK*

A flurry of punches landed all over Mary's body and face.  Every one had the same kind of power to them and it only had one message, pain.  Mary could barely stand on her own strength but Vanessa surely obliged to that.  One last punch straight into her skull sent Mary crashing into the ground.

Vanessa shook her hands after the attack.  All of those punches on some of the hardest parts of the body took a lot out of a person; especially since she didn't have any boxing gloves on.  She looked down at Mary and saw that the blonde was still shaking from the attack.

_It's done…_  "Well, I'm glad that you see it my – huh?"  Vanessa stopped right after she saw Mary getting up from the ground.  She was bleeding on the corner of her lip and most of her body have gashes and soon to be bruises.

_There's no way she could be still standing!  It just isn't possible!  I'm a professional!!!_  Vanessa screamed.

"Come… On," Mary murmured.  "Is that your best?"

_Why you?!_  Vanessa shouted while running for Mary.  She was barely hanging on to consciousness; there was no way she could stand up to another assault like that.

Luckily, Mary knew how to kill two birds with one stone.  Just before Vanessa could get within striking distance she fell to the ground but made sure to have one foot high.  Vanessa tripped over the fallen Mary and crashed into the ground.  Her arms broke her fall but they took a lot of damage.

Mary stood up.  It took her a while but she did it.  That little two second break was a little less than expected but it did the job.  Vanessa picked her body up and noticed the very large scratches on each of her forearms.  There was no way her punches would be as effective as they were at the beginning of the fight.

Still, Vanessa ran forward.  All she had to do was knock Mary down and the shock of the fall should knock her out.  Just one or two punches should do it.  Vanessa made sure to cover low so that she wouldn't be a victim of a third sweep in the fight.

Vanessa threw her fist forward hoping to smash in Mary's face.  Mary went down alright.  Vanessa's fist caught nothing but thin air.  She didn't even have to punch her to take her out.

_Victory!_  She thought just before two legs wrapped around her neck.  _What the?!_

*SMASH*

Vanessa's head was crushed under the weight of her own body.  She flopped around like a fish afterwards but soon stopped.  There was no way she was getting up from that.

"YEAAAH!"  Joe cried.  There was nothing like a good head smash to end a fight.

Mary stood up and dusted herself off.  She cleaned up her hair a bit and looked into the camera, giving a coy, _I'm a winner_ look.  That was just before she was tackled by Anton as he began to lick her face.

"Anton!"  She yelled begging the dog to get off but he wouldn't let up.  He was so happy that Mary was ok.

"MARY!!!"  Terry yelled from the sidelines.  Anton quickly jumped off his master and ran towards Terry.  Mary picked her head up and wondered why Terry would yell at her like that.  The answer came in the form of a flying red fist.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!"  She spat a combination of saliva and blood.  K' showed no mercy for those who were distracted from the fight.

"BURN KNUCKLE!!!"  Terry came flying from his position and landed right over Mary.  K', however, was already meters away waiting for Terry to follow up.

Terry picked up Mary from the ground and carried her over to his other teammates.

"Take care of her Joe!"  He said while placing her in his arms.  Joe nodded not wanting to add a quip or a joke.  The way Terry looked; he was way too serious to screw around with.

Terry turned around with his cap tipped.  K' couldn't see his eyes but he knew they were full of anger, just like he wanted it.  So long as he got Terry worked up on emotions, he wouldn't be able to fight like his normal self.

Terry moved into the fighting square and stretched his muscles giving a definitive "HA!"  right at the peak.  He was fired up and ready to go.

K' moved fast and before Terry could even blink he was standing right in front of him.  K' delivered a hard punch right into Terry's heart that shot him backwards and onto the ground.

Dirt skidded upon Terry's landing but he didn't roll for very long.  Terry knew that if he laid down for even a second, K' could easily end this fight.  The Lone Wolf sprung right back up from the ground and resumed his fighting stance.  K' smiled on the inside knowing how tough Bogard really was but didn't let any emotions come to the outside.

K' struck again going for one of his swinging front kicks while screaming "Shydyaaa!"

Terry blocked the kick and managed to knock K' off balance.  He reeled backwards but didn't loose his stability with his grounded leg.  Terry swung his fist in a haymaker fashion and connected right in K's jaw, finally sending him to the ground.

K' didn't waste an inch during a fight.  Even while lying on his face he swung at Terry with his right leg going for a sweep.  Terry flipped backwards completely avoiding K's strike.  Just upon Terry's landing, K' was already up and moving.  His quickness and speed were uncanny; Terry had never seen anyone move as fast as K'.

K' threw a series of quick kicks and punches.  Terry evaded most of them but he was forced to take a couple of blows.  Even throwing attacks at random, K' is a dangerous force.

Terry took a quick step back and deeply rooted his foot in the ground.  K' wound up for a straight roundhouse to Terry's skull and was ready to deliver.

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

K' saw the attack coming and hasted his own to catch Terry's fist.  He felt the energy of Terry's strike burn the palms of his hands but his gloves easily protected him from any permanent harm.  He pulled Terry forward and slung him into his knee.  K' followed up with an elbow to the back of Terry's head and he easily flipped over straight onto the ground.

"TERRY!"  Screamed Joe.  He'd never seen him completely brutalized like this in a fight.  Terry couldn't hear his cries.  His mind was completely focused on pain.  He's never fought someone this tough since Geese Howard and it's especially straining since he was fighting a man he previously beat.  What a year does to a man.

K' lifted his leg high and slammed it into the crevice of Terry's chest.

"KRAAAAARGH!" Terry cried as he felt his sternum almost snap in two and cave into his body.

K' slammed his foot into the side of Terry's face and sent him rolling onto the other side of the fighting square.  His hat flew off of his head and landed right next to K's foot.  K' looked down at it and smiled just before picking it up.

"Namenjane-zo teme…"  K' taunted while wafting his hair back and tightly clenching Terry's hat in his hand.  He gave it a good squeeze and tossed it to Terry.  His free, flame engulfed hand shot out to strike at the hat just before it reached its owner.  K' smiled at the sight.

Terry shot up and caught the hat seconds before it hit his body.  His other hand was already charged up as he struck K's fire missile with an angered rage while crying "Burn Knuckle!"

K's projectile exploded on contact.  All that was left was the little remnants of orange and red light that soon flickered out into the dry port air.  Terry took the two fingers he caught his hat with and used them to shake out the wrinkles.  He placed it back on his head as if there was nothing wrong and gave K' one of his famous Lone Wolf stares.

"Hey…  Com'on Com'on!!!"

The fire in K's eyes never grew hotter.  After all of that punishment, after all of the beatings, Terry stood there mocking him as if the last moments of the fight ever existed.  He resumed his fighting stance awaiting K's next move.

Terry's body hurt, it hurt pretty bad but that wasn't stopping this fight.  K' might have had the upper hand early on but there was still plenty of fight left.  K' didn't waste a second.  He charged in throwing a flurry of kicks and punches, each had a growing sense of rage building in them.  Terry could feel K' being weakened by these emotions and tried hard to keep it that way.

"SHYDYAAA!"  K' screamed while throwing his leg outward.  Terry saw the move just before it started and moved away.  He knew it was time for some fancy footwork.  If Terry dodged a lot of K's attacks, then he'd be wasting his energy.  The adrenaline would have to wear off soon or so Terry hoped.

K' moved faster and struck harder than ever before.  Fueled by his emotions, K' wanted to tear the Lone Wolf apart.  Flame soon appeared on each arm as he swung at Terry.  The oldest Bogard brother was about to get burned.

Terry dove to the side.  He could feel the flames scratch at his ribs as he dove.  K' swung into empty air while watching his target roll away into the sandy coast and spin directly behind him.

_How the?!  He's still that fast?!_

"POWER WAVE!"

Terry's fist smashed against the ground as a bolt of orange ki flew right at K'.  The immense power driven from it completely blew his hat off.

Terry looked up and found that his Power Wave had struck the docked ship.

_What the?!_  "ACKKKK!!!"  He cried as he felt the air being cut out from his body.  The last thing he could remember seeing is a red glove clenching his throat.  K' was a lot faster than he thought.

"MAXIMAAAA!"  K' yelled while squeezing Terry.  His vision was blurry but he could see a blue clad behemoth heading straight for him while cocking his wrist.

_If he hits me with that…_  Terry thought.  Then he remembered the move he pulled last time to get out of a situation just like this.  Terry swung his heel at K's kneecap.  There was no impact.

Terry felt his foot slide right under K's legs.  "Trying to sweep me off my feet BOGARD?!"  He replied.  "YOU'RE FINISHED!"

Maxima dashed forward.  His fist was pulled backward and in a moment, swung forward with a little extra help from his hidden weapon.  Terry tried to break free from the hold.  He had no idea what to do now but prepare from impact.

_TERRY!!!_  He heard a female voice cry in his head.  He could see anything but a streak of teal color and in an instant it switched right back to navy blue.  Maxima swung forward.

Terry kicked back and threw K' right over his shoulder.  Maxima's fist impacted dead on K's spine but Terry wasn't out of the water yet.  He'd take to long on K's release and he too felt Maxima's attack.  Surely not as bad as K' but it was just enough to send them both to the ground, coughing like a six year old with a cold.

Maxima wanted to swear out loud but he knew his time was over.  If he staying in the fighting square any longer, he would disqualify his team.

Terry reached to his knees and let out the last remaining coughs.  Surprisingly, he landed just feet short of his hat and before thinking; he picked it up and put it on.

Looking over at K', he was in much worse shape.  A small pool of blood spewed from his mouth along with a bit of saliva.  He'd never been hit like that in his life.  His back felt like it snapped in half but he knew better.  He cursed at himself for taking Terry too lightly and allowing that to happen.

K' stood up and spit out the rest of the blood in his mouth.  After shaking his head a bit, making sure that he fully recovered he was ready to go.

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

Terry's fist slammed into the side of K's face.  The impact launched K' into the air and slammed his body down onto the rough coast sand.  More blood began to trickle down the side of his face.  K's eye had been cut.

Terry looked over at Andy.  His brother couldn't believe what he was seeing.  He'd never seen two people go at it with such passion and aggression.  Snapping out of his admirable glare, he saw that Terry gave him a wink and knew exactly what was coming next.

K' sprang to his feet.  He was more upset that ever before.  He dashed towards Terry with a new enthusiasm and more importantly, a new fit of rage.

Terry saw K' coming for him and prepared his defense.  K' was only a few feet from Terry and began to slide on the ground.  After preparing for a sweep defense, K' was no longer in sight.

_He vanished…  NO!!!_  Terry shouted as he turned around to find the flamed enraged K' standing right behind him.

K' lit up his fist and swung at Terry.  The only thing he could see Terry do was put his fingers in his lips and blow.

"ZANEIKAN!!!"

"ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!"  K' cried.  His back was struck once again in the exact same spot.  Blood shot out of his mouth and would have covered Terry's face if he was still standing there.  His body was paralyzed with pain and couldn't even see what awaited him next.

"OVERHEAT!"

Terry slammed his shoulder into K's chest.  It was a different change of pace from attacking the back but he had a wide open shot and a smart fighter always took that road.

K' felt his body being rocked by and uppercut that just wouldn't let up.  There were at least three hits before his body lifted from the ground.

"GYSERRRR!!"

Terry's rising ki strike smashed into K's vulnerable back.  He was instantly shot onto a pile of discarded crates that looked more like a busted wooden piñata after K' landed in it.  His body was no longer visible in the debris.  Terry took a big sigh and hoped that the fight was over.

The crates sparked and were instantly engulfed in flames.  K' stood up from the wreckage and if he looked pissed before that was a day at the beach compared to this.  He took slow steps while approaching Terry.  All it would take was one strike in his state, blocked or not, and Terry would be finished.

*TIME OVER*

The fight was over but K' didn't hear a bell.  He dashed towards Terry, not caring about King of Fighters or anything else.  He'd never been humiliated like that and now he would relieve his aggression on Terry.

K' cocked his fist back.  He engulfed it in a cage of fire; the most powerful he had ever created, and lurched it forward.

_DIE!!!_  He cried to himself just before impact.

It never came.

Terry was already well away from K's attack but that wasn't the important part.  K's red fist was covered in ice.  The sheer shock of the situation took away that now; the entire pier was turned into a Winter Wonderland.  Not a drop of water was moving in the sea.

"What's going on?!"  Andy shouted.  All of the other fighters returned his expression of shock with one of their own.

Mary awoke with a cool feeling brushing against her cheek.  Her hand slid from across her chest and felt that she was sleeping on a block of ice.  Looking up, she saw what everyone else had been staring at and couldn't get any emotion to appear on her face.

From behind the ship, there stood a short, light blue haired girl and next to her was a much taller and a much more flashy dresser wearing nothing but white and crimson.

_It's her!_  Andy cried.  He immediately turned his attention over to Terry as he watched and waited.

The light blue haired girl lifted her harm and pointed at the group of fighters.  She received a nod from her companion and dashed forward.

"TERRY!"  Andy shouted.  He didn't know any other way to warn him but that would have to do.

Before Terry could even blink, he saw the girl approach him with a speed that was rivaled by no one he knew and she threw a fist straight at his skull.

*SMACK*

Terry put up a defense but that wasn't necessary.  The girl's yellow hand was caught by a red one.  Remnants of ice sprayed in the air.

"YOU!!!"  K' shouted.  "YOU'RE IN MY WAY!"  He replied while throwing a ball of flame at her midsection.  She dodged it but instead of following up, she headed for the sea of ice.

"I'll get you!!!"  He yelled while chasing after her.  Nothing mattered to him anymore.  The fight, his teammates, his enemies.  They were all a blur in his mind as he went after the one person who could have been stronger than he was.  He felt it in the speed of her attack and how quickly and easily she dissipated his flame.  K' took off like a psycho beast and wouldn't stop running until he caught his prey.

"What's going on?!"  Terry shouted.  Andy looked over at him once again and sighed.

"It's a long story…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The streets of South Town at this time of night would have been bustling with traffic and late night go-getters.  Unfortunately for those of that particular breed, they would have to wait for another night to delve in their shopping habits.  The South Town plaza had been roped off for the second semifinal match in the King of Fighters Tournament.

"Ready to go Benny!"  Shingo cheered.  His friend was not sharing his mood.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?!"  He replied.  "It's BENIMARU!"

"I know!  I know!"  Shingo protested, "It's just that I'm so excited!"

"Get over it!"  Benimaru shouted.  "Look…"  He said while pointing forward, "Here come our opponents.  GET READY!"

"Got it!"  Shingo replied.  He began to stretch his legs while counting "O-ichi ni san shi."  Then, he tossed on his over-top coat. "Shingo, ichiban te ikkima~su!"  He shouted mentally thanking his master Kyo for all of his hard work.  Shingo was ready to go.

The Art of Fighting Team approached the fighting square.  Ryo looked to be in a dreary mood.  The thoughts of last night plagued his memory but that would only slow him down.  They were in a totally different situation now.  They were about to face the team that put them out of the finals last year minus two members.  The absence of K' and Maxima gave Ryo and his team a much better chance of succeeding than ever before.

"Ryo!"  Takuma called from his position.  He was standing firmly in their corner with his arms across his chest.

"Yes sir!"  Ryo replied.  It wasn't as enthusiastic as he usually would say but it would have to do.

"Pick the order…"

Ryo's face would have lit up like a child at his birthday party but his discipline taught him better than that.  He nodded as a reply and instructed his teammates on the order.

"Alright Robert.  You're up first."

"Gotcha!"  He replied while slapping his muscle.  He didn't even see a second of fighting in the first round so he was the freshest fighter they had.

"King," Ryo pointed, "You'll go next."

"Alright…"  She replied.  Her tone wasn't too enthusiastic.  Ryo noticed that and wondered if she was going through the same dilemma as himself.

"I'll go last…" Ryo stated.  He looked over at Takuma and he looked satisfied with his son's decision by giving a short nod.  Ryo nodded back and turned his focus to the fight.

"Ok Robert…  Get in there and show your stuff!"  Ryo cheered.  Robert gave a nice healthy grin and jumped into the fighting square.  He tightened his white gloves, still keeping his smile on, and then taunted at the young Shingo.

"Hora…  Ikimase!"

Shingo looked back at Robert with a serious glare.  He wasn't going to shame his master in the first round.  Shingo was determined to defeat Robert and honor the Kusanagi Martial Arts style.

_Let's go, Shingo!_  "SHINGO KICK!"  He cried while jumping forward.  His leg smacked Robert's muscular forearm and Shingo was instantly pushed back by his opponent's resistance.

Robert took a step back._  This kid is fast…  I wonder if he does have a little Kyo in him_ he thought.  If Robert was going to win this fight he would have to control Shingo's speed.

"Ryu Geki Ken!"  Robert cried as he threw his orange ki projectile.  Shingo was already way ahead of the game.  He knew that he didn't have a projectile to counter Robert's or anyone else's, that's why he perfected his jump kick techniques.

"SHINGO KICK!"

*CRACK*

Robert took a sharp kick right in the side of the neck that sent him smashing into the ground.  Shingo rolled away and got back on the defensive while watching his opponent strain from the first blow.  The first attack of the match went to Shingo.

After making a mental note to not underestimate Shingo's intelligence over his quickness, Robert got up and dusted himself off.  Shingo stood there looking as strong as he ever did waiting for Robert to make his next move.

"Hien Shipuu Kyaku!"  Robert cried while flailing a series of roundhouse and back swinging kicks in mid air.  Shingo took every one of them in his arms but it didn't seem to faze him one bit.  He took them in stride and prepared an onslaught of his own.

"Bodiga amaize!"

Shingo's fist caught empty air.  He looked down only to see his worst fear; being on the receiving end of a counter attack.

"SORYA!"

Robert's foot cracked Shingo's delicate chin.  He was taken into the air like a paper airplane and ended up crashing on the hard South Town street.  Shingo didn't know what hurt worse, the face or the back.  One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to win this fight lying down.

Shingo picked himself up, slowly at first, and then resumed his fighting stance.  It would take more than one hit to knock him out of this fight and he was determined to prove his master Kyo that he was a serious fighter.

"Donai shitan ya?"  Robert taunted.  He calmly waved his hand at him telling him to proceed with his next attack.  That was a spark that set of Shingo's blaze.

Shingo started blasting Robert with attacks as if there was no tomorrow.  None of them connected in any of the sweet spots but still, Robert could feel the heart and soul of the kid in each and every one of his punches and kicks.

"SHINGO KICK!"  He cried while trying to slam Robert's shoulder again.  Robert blocked it with the back of his forearm and then rolled it around so no he had Shingo's foot in his grasp and proceeded to toss him onto the other side of the arena.

Shingo caught himself and rolled just before falling.  Anyone who wasn't paying attention would never tell the difference between Shingo and Kyo after seeing that maneuver.  After picking himself up, he prepared for the worst from the projectile wielder.

"Ryu Geki Ken!"

Shingo jumped over the orange disc and went for a flying kick.  Robert swayed away and before he could take another breath, Shingo was at it again, fists-a-flying.

Robert took every strike in stride.  This kid may be a little too over his head but he could sure pack a punch.  Before long, it was Robert who ended up cornered between and shoe store and a bar and that's where Shingo really started to hammer it.

Shingo had never felt this way in his entire life.  He was pretty much owning Robert as he just sat there taking punches.  The fire that built within him had final taken the external road.

"BODIGA AMAIZE!"

Robert's head was rocked by a flame covered fist.  His body smashed against the brick exterior wall and collapsed shortly after.  Shingo looked over at the sight and was amazed beyond belief.  He finally mastered the Wild Bite and knocked out his opponent.  He only wished that his master Kyo was here to see it.

"Ore no…  KACHI DA!"  He cried in victory while throwing his fist in the air in true Kyo Kusanagi fashion.  If only he saw what the fans in the arena were seeing now.

"SHINGO YOU IDIOT!"  Benimaru yelled.

"Ryu Geki Ken!"

Shingo didn't have time to react.  He saw the move coming for the third time in this fight and he could do nothing but block.  He had no idea that this fight was still going on.

Robert's projectile dissipated right before hitting Shingo's body.  Shingo looked up in astonishment, wondering if the flame was circling his body in an invisible manner.

"SHINGO!!!"  Benimaru cried once more.  He was already too late.

"Kyoukugen-ryuu Ougi!"

Shingo was caught.  There was no place he was going but to the world of hurt.

"Sorya!  Sorya!!  SORYA!!!"  Shingo was torn up by series of kicks and punches the likes of which he never faced before.  His body wouldn't forgive him after this.

"DONAI YA!"  Robert cried while planting his foot right under Shingo's jaw.  He elevated the young Kusanagi martial artist into the air.  Benimaru slammed his palm on his forehead in disgust.  Shingo was finished.

Shingo's body crashed onto the hard asphalt of the South Town street.  He could feel bumps and bruises forming all over his chest and face and a part of him was glad that it was all over.  The other part was ashamed on the performance that just took place.

"Way to go Rob!"  Ryo cheered.  Robert turned around and gave Ryo a half smile.  Ryo could tell something was up but didn't show that in any physical emotion.

Benimaru stepped into the fighting square while watching Shingo be dragged out by Seth.  He was still embarrassed but had to push that aside.  "Hajimeoka," he states as he jumbles his hair a bit.  The ladies in the arena loved that bit.

Robert resumed his fighting stance; it was half hearted if anything.  His legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each.  He tried to play it off but it wouldn't work against the second best martial artist in Japan; even though he considered himself the best.

"Rai Jin Ken!"  A blast of blue lightning bursted into the air.  Robert jumped back and held a defensive position.  Benimaru never came close to actually hitting Robert, he only did it to prove a theory he had and after seeing Robert limp into a defense stance, that's all the proof he needed.

_Shit!_  Robert cursed.  His ankle was killing him.  That last landing wasn't as smooth as it should have been.  He only wished he could turn back time and go for the Haou Shoukouken.

Benimaru moved fast.  Robert couldn't even check the movements.  He figured lightning wasn't only an external part of his fighting style.

Before Robert could put his arms down he felt a sharp knee blast him straight in the gut.  He spat forward; that was a mistake.  Benimaru kicked him straight in his open mouth in the same style as his uppercut kick with a streak of electricity crashing into the open part of his chest.

Robert collided with an unforgiving street.  He could feel his eight hundred dollar suit being torn from the left side but that wasn't his biggest problem.  His problem stood only a few feet from him with tall blonde hair.

Robert jumped to his feet.  He was determined to take Benimaru on with all of his strength; even if it was at half power.

"Ryu Geki Ken!"

Benimaru ducked right under it.  Robert took his half-assed offense just a little too weakly to think he'd push Benimaru's buttons.

"Shinkuu Katategoma!"  Benimaru took to the ground in what looked to be a break dance maneuver but was more effective as a fight ender.

Robert's ankle was on the brink of snapping in two.  One strike was all that needed but Benimaru was a generous man and gave him four more.  Robert crashed onto the ground clenching his foot.

Benimaru smiled.  Robert was done but he wasn't.

"RAIKO-!"

*SMACK*

Benimaru never got the chance to release his electrical storm.  His fist was well in the grasp of Takuma and there was nothing he could do about it.

"This fight is over…"  Takuma stated.  He released Benimaru's hand but didn't forget to get that last tight squeeze.  Takuma picked Robert up and brought him to their corner.

"I guess I…  Went a little too far," Robert coughed.  Ryo gave an unsatisfying grin and looked over at King.  She was still staring at Robert wondering how he could have been humbled like this.

"King," Ryo calmly interrupted.

"Y – Yea…?"  She coyly asked.

Ryo didn't follow with a response.  He hoped that his one word was enough to tell her to get into the fighting square.  After a few brief moments of waiting, she began to move forward.  A hand grasped her shoulder before she could move another step.

"Be careful."

King didn't look back.  She didn't have to.  She could recognize that voice in the deepest blizzard in the farthest region of the earth.  King moved into the fighting square not even preparing a taunt.  She just threw on her fighting stance and was ready to go.

Benimaru shook the hand that Takuma caught as if he here waving off the pain that came with it.  "Hello lovely lady…"  He plainly stated.  "It's a crime that your friend wasted his striker attack on defending that male," A smile formed on Benimaru's lips as he continued, "I'd always be there for you…"

"Venom Strike!"

"Rai Jin Ken!"

Benimaru waved off King's first attempt at offence.  "Heh…  Feisty aren't you?"  He grinned.  "I like that in a woman."

King scoffed at that.  This was the type of male that she was disgusted in.  Chauvinistic, arrogant, thinking he's on top of the world and all that at the same time.  She wanted to put him down worse than anything in her entire life.

"Tornado Kick!"  King sprang forth.  She wanted to take the offensive end at the start. Benimaru was taken back by the quickness and was actually forced to block the last kick.

Benimaru stood on the defensive, moving back and forth and side to side just to avoid the veritable lavender onslaught.  King didn't hold back on any kick, she wanted to throw whatever she could to knock off that egotistical smile of his and keep it off.

Amazingly, Benimaru let his guard down long enough, leaving his lover half completely uncovered and awaiting punishment.

King went low with a weak roundhouse but that wasn't to be messed around with.  The point of that kick was to get him thinking low and then follow up high.  Three more kicks in succession struck Benimaru in head, chest, and legs once more.

Benimaru's body did a ninety degree turn to his right as if her were about to fall down.  That was short lived.

"Rai Jin Ken!"

King gasped and crashed straight on her ass.  Just the sound of that attack made her cringe.  She was hit with that once before in the first King of Fighters tournament and it partially tore her blouse off.  Looking up, she saw that not even a spark of electricity left his fist.

"You're cute, but stupid…"  He calmly pointed out.  "I would have gladly stayed away from touching your face if you offered me the same courtesy…  But I guess that's gone now.  I'm done toying around with you."

King did a back roll and sprang to her feet keeping her fists tight and close to her chest in the classic kick boxing defensive stance.  Her breath hadn't fully caught up with her yet but she was trying.

"Yare Yare…"  He chirped, trying to play off any seriousness she still had and taking out the last bit of humor he had left in his system.  The real fight was about to begin.

Benimaru moved in fast.  He swept through all sides of King's defense, making her head almost revolve a complete three hundred and sixty degrees.  She was completely lost.

"Rai Jin Ken!"

King fell back as she did once before.  She was lucky her instincts kicked in a lot faster than her mind.

"Shinkuu Katategoma!"  Benimaru cried as he spun his body in its classic fashion.  King took the first kick in the ribs and the next in the back.  The other three missed completely.  The first two had done there job as King was now on the ground, clenching her body as if it were about to explode.

Benimaru sprang up and kicked into his fighting stance.  King was far from a defensive position so Benimaru took the initiative and went in for more free strikes.

"SURPRISE!"

Benimaru felt his jaw shoot up like a rocket and it almost took his head with it.

"ROSE!"

King soared down smashing heels into Benimaru's chest as she went.  The move completely caught him off guard and he collapsed on the asphalt as if it where his new home.

Upon landing, King didn't waste a second and threw on her fighting stance.  Benimaru wasn't on the ground for longer than a second before he sprang up in a show-boat fashion.  He wiped his lip and noticed a small fountain of blood protruding from it.

"You…  You're not as cute as I thought," he boldly pointed out.  "No more Mr. Nice Nakaido!"

Benimaru dashed forward. His body moved so fast it almost seemed like an illusion and before King could even react, there was a knee in her stomach.  An elbow strike followed right on the back of her neck as she doubled over.  The second strike didn't cause her to collapse as Benimaru grabbed her by the lavender jacket and tossed her to the side.

"RAI JIN KEN!"

Benimaru's fist smacked King's sternum and her chest exploded in pain.  She could hear her blouse being torn to shreds but there wasn't a draft of cool air to follow.  The shirt must have held its integrity.

King crashed on the ground.  She clenched her eyes and the rest of her body.  This was the first time she'd ever felt pain like this.  Benimaru was one of the best fighters around and his strength easily topped that of King's but he wasn't fighting to win.  He was fighting for another reason.

King stood up but her body wouldn't allow her to resume her fighting stance just yet.  The sound of crackling electricity caught her ear.  Her head couldn't even turn to look at what was coming ahead.  That sound was a little too familiar to her ears.  It reminded her of the previous night, a night that really didn't go over well.  She now felt something that she hadn't felt ever in a fight.  Fear.

"KINGGGGG!!!"  She heard being yelled from one corner.  It was a familiar voice.  A voice she heard just before going into the fight.  A voice that she'd like to return to.

"GENEI HURRICANE!"

Benimaru's attack went on unscathed.  Five hits in perfect succession and King took every one of them.  Her body was lifted by all of the momentum and immediately shot down after gravity took its course.

"Kimatta na!"  He cried while watching King's prone body.  There wasn't an inch of fight left in her.  Benimaru turned his head and shoulders slightly while pointing towards the camera and giving a little cheer to the fans after saying "Thank you…"

"BASTARD!"  Ryo shouted.  He was kneeling over holding King in his arms.  Takuma immediately walked over to relieve Ryo of his caring duties.

"Oh…  So you're the boyfriend?"  Benimaru joked, "I hope you fight better than you choose your women."

Ryo growled at that last snide comment.  He wasn't about to let Benimaru get away with what he just did.

"Hein Shipuu Kyaku!"

Benimaru's eye brows shot up like lightning but his body responded in a safer fashion.  He swayed to the side and let Ryo completely pass him.  If Ryo wanted to play with the big boys, he has his chance.

_This guy…  What a joke_ Benimaru thought.  _Wait until – WHAT THE?!_

Ryo grabbed Benimaru's shirt, fell back and launched him into a brick wall.  Benimaru slammed it so hard there was the faintest impression of his ass and lower back left in the red wall.  Girls would be flocking there after tomorrow to just to see the marvelous; just a random thought that crossed his mind.

Benimaru hit the ground.  A bit of brick debris came with him.  The throw hurt but it wouldn't put him down for the rest of the fight.  He was just about to pick himself up when another pair of hands came to aid him with that task.

Ryo tossed Benimaru into the same wall he hit before but not with as much power.  Benimaru was still reeling from the first attack and too fazed to even think of blocking the next.

"Zan Retsu Ken!"

Benimaru took the fastest fists he ever felt right in his gut, chest, and face.  There were at least ten but he wasn't counting.  His head was being thrown about like a rubber ball and the last strike really crushed his jaw.  Ryo finished him with an uppercut that threw Benimaru back once more but he immediately came back down.

Ryo caught Benimaru before he could even touch the fresh street.  He threw him to the opposite side and Benimaru stumbled his way several meters before he finally stopped and regained his own balance.

"Kououken!"

That was the sound that kicked Benimaru right in the face and brought him back into the fight.

"Rai Jin Kin!"

Benimaru dissipated Ryo's projectile inches before it hit him.  Ryo still had that menacing glare pasted on his face.  His anger was a heavy fog on the surrounding area.

Blood trickled down the top of Benimaru's skull.  His blonde hair was orange in some areas, a look that he thought to be sinful amongst the millions of fans tuning in.  Ryo had just pushed Benimaru's final button.

Benimaru rushed in.  There wasn't even a taunt to prelude it; it was a sign of his seriousness.  He quickly maneuvered around Ryo, completely baffling the Kyokugen warrior and began his attack.

Ryo took a knee straight in his lower back.  He screamed straightly thereafter but that wasn't the only amount of pain his body would feel in this relay.

"Shinkuu Katategoma!"

Benimaru spun around taking Ryo out from the back of the leg.  Ryo took all five hits in his meaty calves and immediately tumbled on the black asphalt.  Benimaru quickly jumped up and went after Ryo.  He took a giant leap in the air and after floating for almost a single second, he came down like a spinning missile looking to drill Ryo's head into the hard street.

*CRASH*

Benimaru's feet dug into the asphalt with not a single spec of his opponent taking any hit.  Ryo had rolled to the side and before Benimaru could keep his eyes open, Ryo was standing and already on the defensive.

Ryo held a guard.  Benimaru was way too quick for him to strike first.  Ryo could only wait and pray for an opening.

Benimaru charged forward only this time, was completely unorganized which was very different from his regular style.  He threw kicks and punches at Ryo that hit all parts of the body but none of them seemed to really connect.  Ryo took every blow and could feel his body being worn down after every hit.  Benimaru looked like he could go like this for another couple of minutes.  There was no way Ryo could.

Benimaru went for a roundhouse kick.  Ryo caught his leg with both arms and before Benimaru could think of a counter, Ryo pushed his leg back and sent him stumbling backwards.  Ryo could see Benimaru would be off balance for another second and this might be his only chance.

"Kyoukugen-ryuu Ougi!!!"

_Nice try…_  Benimaru thought after quickly dispersing his off-balance act.  "GENEI HURRICANE!"

*SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*

Before Ryo could even breathe he had taken five straight hits from the lightning fast Benimaru.  Ryo's body lifted into the air and spun like a tornado before hitting the hard black asphalt.

"Kimatta na," Benimaru finished.  He looked over and upon seeing a defeated Ryo he cracked a smile; but he wasn't finished with him yet.  Benimaru walked over and picked Ryo up from off of the ground.  He could barely stand on his own legs.  Benimaru looked him dead in the eye and growled just before he pulled his fist back and charged it with electricity.

"RAIKO-!"

"ICHIGEKI HISSATSU!"

*CRACK*

"GRYAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"  Benimaru cried.  He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as his body twitched as a response to all of the pain he had just felt.  He fell to the ground and it was the only place he really wanted to be right now.

Ryo stood strong with his arm extended forward.  He still had heavy breaths but it was just starting to level off.  He looked down at Benimaru after regaining a normal stance and saw that there was nothing left to worry about.  Benimaru was out of the fight.

A great sigh left Ryo's breath.  That was the single most intense fight he had ever been in.  Now he could concur that Benimaru truly was one of the strongest fighters in Japan.

Without allowing another passing moment, Lin jumped into the fighting square.  He was a unique fighter new to this year's tournament.  His outfit was very unusual and he was completely silent even in movements.

Ryo turned and faced this new opponent.  He was exhausted but never showed it physically.  Sweat beaded down almost every part of his body.  Before even throwing on his fighting stance he threw off the top part of his gi.  Ryo flexed his muscles as tight as they would stretch and then broke into his Kyokugen stance.  He was ready.

Lin struck first.  He thrusted his hand at Ryo before he could even blink.  His red, knife edge slash cut Ryo's stomach just as he was trying to avoid the attack.  Blood spewed out quickly there after and left Ryo to clench his wound hoping to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.

Lin didn't let up.  He followed with a straight palm strike to Ryo's chest and finished him off with a slashing upper cut.  Ryo hit the ground hard wondering how in the hell could he be put down like that after only three hits.

Ryo coughed and a few drops of blood found there way through his teeth.  He slid his body back step by step.  Lin never moved from his position but Ryo was always mindful of his opponent's intentions.  He picked himself up as quickly as he could and got back in his Kyokugen stance, blood was still dripping down his stomach.

Lin jumped forward with speed and balance that was completely new to Ryo's knowledge.  Ryo prepared his block high as Lin kicked away at Ryo's arms.  Every hit was like a sledgehammer striking at full blast.

Ryo thought the worst was over but his thoughts were never helpful in a fight.  Lin struck his final kick right under Ryo's defense and smacked his chin.  Ryo crashed on the asphalt not even knowing which part of his body to concentrate on.  There was nothing more his body could do.

_What are you doing on the ground?!_  He spat at himself.

_I'm…   I'm done._

_No you're not!_

_…_

_GET UP!  And prove you are a warrior!_

_What for?_

_Defeat is not an option!_

_Then what is?_

_Your heart…_

_What?!  What are you talking about?_

_Focus on your heart…  Then you'll see._

Ryo didn't understand a word of what was going on.  He wondered if other people had trouble like this then thought nothing of it.  He lifted his head up and saw Lin just standing there as if he was waiting for Ryo to get up and finish.  Ryo sprang up from his position; the adrenaline hit him pretty hard and he was ready to go.

Lin raised an eyebrow.  Whoever this guy was, he sure had a lot of heart but not a lot of intelligence.

Ryo turned to the side.  Both of his hands were close together standing next to his right hip.  His arms tightened and began charging the all of the energy his body had left.  Wind sprang up from all of the intensity which blew his blonde hair in all sorts of directions.

_Come on Ryo think!!! _ He yelled at himself.  _You cannot let them down now!  For your father!  For your friend!  For…  For…_

_King._

"HAOUUUUUU!!!!"  He cried.  More energy sprouted from his body and the winds picked up with a whole new passion.  Lin looked over with a confused and intrigued expression.  He had no idea what to think but knew if he didn't think soon, he would lose this fight and his one chance at information.

Lin had a plan.  As soon as he saw any type of erratic movements from Ryo, he would teleport behind him and let him have it.  It was quite simple really.  All he needed to do was wait for his cue.

"SHOKOU-"

_There!_

"KENNNNNN!!!!!"

*CRASH*

Ryo released his projectile attack.  His arms wanted to pop every vein in them and he could feel the last of his bodily juices being spewed out into his one final assault.  He wanted to crash on the ground and die but not until he saw what was left of his opponent.

There was a giant hole breaking into the shoe store.  Lin was no where in site. Referees and camera men immediately ran inside to see what had happened.  Ryo stood up for as long as was necessary until one of the referees ran out.  He raised his arm towards the Kyokugen corner.  Lin was out cold.

_Just…  One…  Hit…?_  Ryo thought before he collapsed on the ground.  The corners of his eyes swelled up and the last thing he saw was the blinking lights of the South Town plaza all shut off at once.

"RYO!"  Robert yelled as he limped over to Ryo.  He knew he had to stay off his foot but he didn't care, his friend was hurt.

Takuma didn't run over immediately.  He looked over and saw the only remaining member of the Benimaru team not showing any emotion at all.  Seth just walked away as if the rest of the night was none of his business.  Takuma didn't have any business with him but it was always a good idea to keep his eyes open.

Speaking of which, he looked down and saw that King was finally up.  She looked over at the situation after finally regaining herself.  The sight that was before her wanted to make her cry.

"RYOOOOOOO!!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How did it go?"

"Just as planned sir."

"Good.  Everything is going well."

"Sir?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you want me to throw the fight?  I thought you wanted the strongest fighters."

"I do.  And now I have them."

"…"

"Prepare the final setting.  The weapon is ready to be turned on for the first time and we wouldn't want to keep our guests waiting."

"Yes sir."

_Terry Bogard and Ryo Sakazaki…  What mysteries and strengths do you both hide?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  Woooooo!  How about that?  I am feeling good with this story.  Everything is shaping up so nicely.  Don't you think so?  I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out but my new job is a killer on my time and I can't balance everything all at once.  I hope you guys are enjoying the story as much as I am.  Sorry if the fights seem a bit short but I'm trying to keep the story aspect of the fiction as blatant as possible.  Next up is the final round of the KOF Tournament and its shaping up to be a real good one.  Keep those reviews coming because that's what motivates me to write.  I'm surprise at my numbers being one of the longest KOF fics on the site.  Oh well, guess Terry and Ryo can't win them all.  Take it easy guys and I'll see you next chapter.)


	11. Chapter 10: King of Fighters Tournament ...

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 10:  King of Fighters Final Round**

"Today, South Town is booming with fans after the last round of the Tournament," Yumi Sanada reports standing in front of the South Town arena.  Today is the last day of the King of Fighters Tournament and it is always the biggest.  Yumi is doing her final report with the fans and it is always the hardest.  She kept several pain killers in her pocket and a bottle of water handy just in case.  "It seems that two of South Town's home teams have made it into the final round of the tournament."

The fans in the background cheer at the very mention of Team Fatal Fury and the Art of Fighting Team.  Most of the fans whose favorites had already lost were now wearing the famous read Fatal Fury cap or a familiar Kyokugen Karate t-shirt paid for by the Garcia Foundation.  It was indeed a bright day in the usually dismal place of South Town.

"Excuse me sir…"  Yumi turned to a fan, "Who do you think will be the winner?"

The fan didn't even regard Yumi's fragile eardrums when he gave his response, "WOOO!!!  Team Fatal Fury is invincible!"  He cheered, the hundreds of Fatal Fury fans who could hear him gave an astounding yell.  "TERRY AND ANDY RULE!!!"  He finished.  All of the sudden, hundreds of fans threw their Fatal Fury hats in the air in classic Terry Bogard fashion.

Yumi quickly moved aside, rolling her eyes and mentally gawking at the audacity of some of South Town's citizens.  When she finally found a crowd that didn't seem as rude, she stopped and asked them the same question.  "So…  Who do you think will be the winner?"

Unfortunately for Yumi, she neglected to realize that the Art of Fighting fans were staying silent under the cheers of the others.  "KYOKUGEN FOREVER!!!"   He roared straight into the camera, completely taking Yumi out of the shot.  "Ryo is the greatest!  He is the Unbeatable Dragon!!!"  He roared and his fellow Kyokugen fans followed his lead.  Yumi is reminded of her television contract and moved along the line of spectators.  When she finally found one that had a hint of sanity, she stopped and smiled.

"Hey there cutie…"  Yumi grinned at the small girl holding a teddy bear.  "Who do you like best?"

"I like…"  She had to think.  It was hard for an eight year old to think of names instead of vague descriptions.  "I like Joe…  He's funny!"

The fans gave an "Awwww!" after hearing that and Yumi was glad she was finally able to calm down the crowd.  Yumi smiled and moved away while the fans were still tranquil to find another winner in the crowd.

Yumi finally stopped and saw a quite fan with a book in his hands and the thickest glasses in the world.  He had nerd written all over him and that meant he was quiet and an ease on Yumi's growing headache.

"Who do you think will be this millennium's winner of the King of Fighters Tournament?"  She asked in her normal tone of voice.

"I think…"  He said while pushing up his glasses closer to his face, "The real winners are going to be the fans.  This is going to be a great fight."

Silence.

Soon, the poor nerdy individual was pummeled by the rivaling Fatal Fury and Kyokugen fans.  Yumi and her cameraman got out of there quickly and headed towards the end of the line for one final interview.  She caught her eye on a man holding a PDA device in his hand and was looking very serious for the situation he was in.  Yumi quickly ran over to catch this man before her television time was up.

"Excuse me sir!"  She ran up, "What do you think the out come of the tournament will be?"

"I don't need to think," he boldly pointed out, "This device here can and has calculated every possible scenario and has picked the most likely outcome."

"Oh really?!"  Yumi said pretending to be interested, "What does it say?"

"Let me see," he said while looking down.  "It seems that the Art of Fighting team will win."

"Really?!  How do you figure that?"

"Well," he said while pushing a few buttons.  "It seems that Takuma will defeat M. Bison with a Kahmehameha wave in the 11th round…"

Silence.

Yumi quickly darted out of there before the camera could catch the beating that man was about to receive.  "We will see you at the finals folks.  This is Yumi Sanada reporting for News Combo Seven."

*          *          *          *          *

"Turn it off Joe…"  Andy spat under his breath.

"But it was just getting…"  Joe said without looking at Andy but he knew better than to test Andy in this situation.  He calmly turned off News Combo Seven and tossed the remote on the coffee table.

All of Team Fatal Fury were nestled inside Mary's apartment.  Terry had requested their presence for the annual pre-finals pep talk.  Andy was still rattled from yesterday's events.  Terry had taken the news just as he normally would but that was the problem.  Terry never confronted situations that didn't seem important until the last minute.  Andy may have been the younger brother but he was always the most concerned for Terry's well being.

Terry was inside Mary's bathroom, helping her pull off the last of her bandages.  She had suffered a bruising in the last round and wanted to make sure she was one-hundred percent.

"Ow!"  She cried while feeling the bandage being pulled off of her face.  She began to rub her cheek where the bandage once sat and could feel nothing but smooth skin.  She had fully healed.

"Quit being such a baby…"  He joked while tossing the used adhesive strip aside.  "You're fine."

"Thanks to you."

Terry cocked a half smile, "You should be more careful."

Mary pulled away.  She had felt ashamed ever since she let her guard down in the last match.  "If only I – "

"Shhhh…"  Terry said while placing a single finger on her lips.  Soon, his whole hand found its way to the back of her head and he pulled her in for a kiss.  She gladly accepted and poured all her emotions into their physical connection.  Mary always wanted moments like these and she never wanted them to end.

Terry pulled back after a few seconds.  Mary still had her eyes closed and was surprised it ended so quickly.  Inside, she felt a little disappointed that it was over.  Outside she just looked back and smiled.

"Don't worry about it…  Let's just worry about getting some rest and enjoying the day."

"Terry…"

"We can worry about fighting tonight.  For now, we'll relax."

Mary smiled.  Terry could make any situation comfortable with his words.  Mary always like that quality.  She then took Terry's hand and placed it on her cheek.  Her smooth skin rubbed against his hands and she enjoyed every minute of it.  This was the real Terry Bogard.

"Terry…  What's going to happen after King of Fighters?"

"Hmm…?"  He asked like he had no idea what was going on.

"What is going to happen with us Terry?"  She asked.  Mary was being as sincere as humanly possible.  She wanted to know what was going to become of the Legendary Wolf when there wasn't anyone to fight and, if she was going to be a big part of it.

Terry leaned back while gently pulling his hand back and looked Mary dead in the eyes.  "We'll cross that bridge once we get to the river," he winked.  Mary gave a not so sure smile as she received another one of Terry's _we'll see what happens_ answers.

Before Mary could blink a second time, Terry was up and out of the bathroom.  She wanted to call out to him but she knew if whenever Terry was in this kind of mood, it was best to leave him alone and let him do his thing.

Terry walked into the living room and found a nice resting place on top of Mary's love seat.  Joe was sitting in the sofa adjacent from him still wondering what to watch.

"What's the plan Terry?"  Andy asked.

Terry knew he wouldn't be able to go the entire day without having to mention something about the fight.  Andy was always concerned with what's ahead and Terry always had to pay the price.

"Well," he said adjusting his cap down as if he were preparing for a nap, "They've got the experience advantage.  Takuma will be tough so we'll put Joe in against him."

"ME?!"  Joe replied in shock.

"Yea.  You've got the stamina and speed advantage.  The worst case scenario is you and Takuma knock each other out."

"And what's the best case?"  Joe pondered.

"That'll be up to you."

Joe hissed.  That was the same Terry Bogard he knew when he first met him.  Living in the moment.

"Andy, you'll go in whenever King's turn is up."

"King?!"  Andy shot back.  "What about Robert?"

Terry flicked his hat up and looked back at Andy.  "Did you see their fight?  Robert sprained his ankle.  There's no way they'd put him in to fight.  He'll be the striker."

"So why do I get King?"  Andy replied.  He knew his brother always had the heads up when it came to fighters but it was interesting to hear his disposition.

"Because she's a kick boxer and you've had some good luck against kick boxers in the past," Terry joked while pointing his thumb to Joe.  Andy chuckled a bit remembering his first fight with the kick boxing champion.  Terry was right when it came to that scenario.

"I'll take Ryo," Terry stated.  "If anyone is going to give us trouble…  It'll be him."

"Mary's the striker again?"  Joe asked actually giving a thought onto today's fight.  "Are you sure that's wise Terry?"

"Kyokugen is all about strength.  Mary doesn't have any ki strikes.  She'll be helpless at far ranges."

Andy nodded.  Joe rolled his eyes back after being shut up by their smartest and strongest fighter.  Terry tipped his hat back down and was preparing for a nice long nap.

"Sounds like a good plan," Mary called walking in.  It caught the attention of all of the males in the room including the sleepy Terry.  They all looked up to see what she was going to say next.

"Terry knows his stuff," she calmly stated, "But…"

"But what?"   Joe questioned.  "But-ter and bread?  He's got a tight butt?"

Mary blew right past Joe's quips and proceeded to calmly continue her analysis.  "But…  There's a situation you forgot about."

"And what would that be?"  Terry kindly asked.

"Ryo Sakazaki."

"Ryo Sakazaki?"  Andy replied.  "Terry already figured him in."

"Really?  And I thought Terry watched the fight," Mary stated.  "I guess he never watched the end."

"Why?"  Terry pondered.  "What's wrong with Ryo?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How's he doing?"  King asked.  She placed another cold wet cloth on Ryo's head.  He was burning up and he's been sick ever since they all got him last night.  She was kneeling next to him and praying for the best.  She'd never seen Ryo this way and it really hurt her.  She pondered in the back of her head if this is what Mary went through and shook it off as soon as the emotions started their way to her eyes.

Takuma looked up and down and his son and shook his head.  "Not too good.  He's infected with poison."

"Poison?!"  King shot out.  "When did that happen?!"

"It seems that Lin's glowing red hands do more than just slash at his opponent.  Ryo was unfortunate to get cut open by the initial strike," Takuma replied.

"So…  What are we going to do?"  She wondered.  Her eyes showed an expression of fear and worry.  They had made it so far and now it seemed like it was over and at too great a cost.  Ryo was badly hurt and Robert was in no condition to fight.  It was like everything bad that could have happened before the finals just jumped into a blender from hell and was being poured out in the Sakazaki house.

"I don't know…"  Takuma answered.  "I don't know."

"I know!"  Robert called from the backyard.  He limped his way back inside the house to where everyone was gathered and found his way into a more comfortable position against the sofa.

"Robert!"  Takuma replied, "You should be icing your leg outside!"

"There's nothing more ice can do for me now," said Robert.  "I'll just have to walk it off."

Takuma raised his eyebrow after that last remark then quickly brought it back down.  Robert was in good spirits about the situation so it was much better for him to keep his mood than try and shoot it down and make everyone feel bad.

"How's the old dragon?"  Robert asked.  Neither King or Takuma responded nor did they want to respond.  Robert got a feeling on what the answer was and let it pass.  Their leader was down and maybe out.

*KNOCK**KNOCK*

King looked up at the door as well as everyone else.  She wanted to volunteer and answer it but she didn't want to leave Ryo's side.  Takuma noticed this and took the initiative.  He walked up to the door and checked the side window to see if it was another reporting hoping to get a scoop on Ryo's condition.  He was a lot happier to see that it wasn't.

Takuma opened the door and Yuri walked right in.  She held a couple of filled grocery bags and one very peculiar looking brown bag.

"Hey dad," she said while moving right along.  It wasn't as cheery as her normal tone but after getting the phone call last night, she wasn't in a cheery mood.  "Hey guys," she greeted everyone else and moved straight into the kitchen.  Yuri lost herself in the room and went to work.

"She seems –," Robert was about to say before he was cut off from the howl emanating from the kitchen.

"Hey King!  Can you come here and help me?"  Yuri asked.  King's eyebrows shot up and looked right over at Takuma.  She didn't want to leave Ryo but after seeing Takuma nod in approval, she knew he was in good hands.

"Thanks King," Yuri stated.  "Could you grab that bag over there?"

"Sure," King replied picking up the first bag she gazed her eyes upon.  Yuri really didn't narrow it down so King just grabbed the small brown paper bag and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Yuri said while opening the contents.  There were two small red vials and a couple of unusual looking plants.  King was dumbfounded at what they were and she had to ask.

"What is this stuff?"

"It's medicine for Ryo."

"Oh…"  She whispered feeling dumber for asking.  "It looks exotic."

"It is…  Dad spent all of the savings just to bring them here."

"What?!"

Yuri sighed.  "Yea…  But it's worth it.  For Ryo."

King agreed and nodded.  "What…  What is it supposed to do?"

"Not sure," Yuri said while stirring in some of the contents.  "But my dad was very specific with the contents so it must be helpful."

"I see…"  King said.  She had no idea what was going on with her body.  If this was a fight she would have gotten her second wind by now but this was different.  Her eyes felt like bursting every other second but she held it inside.  This was not what she wanted.

"King…?"

King didn't hear a thing.  Her thoughts were lost and away from the present world.

"King?"

Again nothing.  Ryo plagued her thoughts.  _Not even twenty four hours ago he was up and moving as if he were on an adrenaline high and now…  Now he may not even see the light of another day._

"King!"

The sound broke King out of her gaze but not out of her mindset.  King turned to face Yuri, tears were slipping down each of her cheeks.

"King…"  Yuri whispered.  She grabbed King and hugged her tightly.  Yuri knew she needed it and made sure to squeeze extra tight.  King let a few more tears slip out but made sure to keep it as quiet as possible.

They broke off after a couple of seconds.  King was still a bit rattled but was feeling a lot better.  She was glad to have a friend like Yuri.

"Don't worry King…  Ryo's tough, he'll be just fine."

"Yea…"  King sniffed while wiping away the last of her tears.

"Yea…  Well…"  Yuri tried to change the subject before she would let her emotions get the best of her, "Let's bring this to dad," she said while pouring the last of the liquid into a pan.  They both walked into the living room and saw that nothing has changed.  Ryo was still out cold and it looks like he didn't move at all, not even to breath.

"Here dad…"  Yuri said while passing on the dish.  It was full of a thick red liquid and Takuma quickly took it and placed it next to Ryo.  He dried out the towel that was on his forehead and placed it in the dish.  The white towel quickly turned red as it soaked up all of the liquid.

"King, open up Ryo's chest," Takuma stated.

King looked back up at Takuma as if he asked an impossible task but then the reality of the situation grasped her mind and she opened up Ryo's gi.  A bandage was covering the slash mark Ryo received and blood was still stained from the interior to the exterior.

"Remove the bandage," he ordered.

King followed his instructions and cut the bandage off with a knife.  The cut on Ryo's gut was still fresh and it hadn't fully healed.  Takuma worked quickly and rubbed the liquid all over Ryo's stomach and chest.  It almost looked like he was rubbing blood black into his system but the liquid was a little too thin to fill that role.  King watched and wondered what kind of healing process this was.

When Takuma rubbed enough liquid on Ryo's chest, he put the towel back into the dish.  Ryo still lay motionless as if nothing transpired.

"What did you do dad?"  Yuri asked.  King wanted to know as well.  Robert did too but he pretended as if he knew and just shut up and let his master work.

"This liquid will seep into Ryo's pores and eventually neutralize the poison," Takuma stated.  Those words were like a great weight lifted off of everyone's chest.  "But, this process will make Ryo very weak.  That is why I had Yuri buy the special herbs and spices."

"Why is that?"  Robert added from across the room.  He had to say something to prove his interest in the situation.  After all, it is his best friend laying there.

"Those herbs will be used to make a broth.  Once Ryo wakes up, he'll have to drink it quickly or else his strength will never recover."

"How long will it take?"  Yuri asked.  Her words ended up stuttering towards the end.  She was definitely showing her concern.

"If Ryo stays strong and drinks the broth immediately…  I'd say a good three days."

Everyone looked gloomy after hearing that last statement.  That wasn't the news they wanted to here.  Ryo was taken out of the final round without even stepping foot in the ring.  It was an injustice in the Sakazaki house.

"But…"  King interrupted, "He'll get better right?"

Everyone looked up at King.  She knew she said nothing wrong and had an idea where she was going with this so she just remained calm and let the situation roll with the punches, so to speak.

"Yes King.  He'll be fine but – " Takuma stated before being interrupted.

"There is no but sir.  That's all that matters now.  Winning the tournament is nothing more than a faint achievement but," King replied before feeling her emotions swell up.  "But…  At a cost like this…  It is more like a travesty."

Everyone concurred with that.  There was nothing more words could say to prove King right.  They just stood around watching Ryo as the time passed.  It wasn't the greatest or most productive thing around but it was the only thing they wanted to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary's apartment got pretty quiet real quick.  Andy and Joe ordered some lunch for the team and were waiting in the lobby for it.  It wasn't the most elegant thing they could eat but there was no way they would make it outside with the crowd the way it was.  That would be a version of suicide.

Terry was in the bathroom.  He made sure the door was locked even after his shower was finished.  Normally he wouldn't be concerned about these things but he definitely had something to hide.  He let the towel slide from his upper body and revealed his hidden wound.  A large blue bruise covered the extremity of his sternum and another on the right side of his ribs.  K' was a lot stronger than Terry realized and he felt these wounds well after the adrenaline finally died out.  These wounds kept him up most of the night, it made it difficult to do certain tasks and especially difficult to conceal it from everyone else.  Terry wasn't one hundred percent and he had no idea how he would be able to pull off another miracle from his magic hat.

"Terry," Mary called while knocking on the door.  "What's going on?"

_Shit!_  "Huh?"  He said while pretending to not hear her.

"You never used to keep this door closed.  What's the deal?"

"Uh…  I guess it just slipped my mind.  Sorry about that," Terry replied while throwing his shirt over his body.  "I'll open it right now."

The door made a _click_ sound and opened up.  She saw Terry with the towel over his head as he was drying his hair.  Everything looked to be normal in Mary's eyes so she just calmly entered the room with Terry as if there was nothing wrong with it and decided to have a little chat with him.

"Feeling better?"

_Huh?_  "I'm doing alright…"

"Oh?  Even these?"  Mary said while poking Terry straight in the chest.  He cringed at the first impact and grabbed Mary's hand before she could do any more damage.

"Thought so…  Terry – !"

"Just drop it Mary.  There's nothing we can do now."

"Yes there is.  You're not fighting today."

"What?!  Forget it.  I'm not letting you fight in my place."

"Why not?!"

"Because Kyokugen is too tough for you to handle.  You'd never make it pass the first round."

"So Terry…  Why are you doing this?  To fuel your own little desire to become the strongest fighter alive?"

"…"

"It's hard to be a strong fighter when you're in the hospital or…  Even worse," Mary paused at that last remark to let it sink in.  "Tell me!"

"I…  I'm not going to watch you get hurt again.  Not when I could do something about it.  Even if I have to go out with broken arms and legs.  As long as there is air in my lungs I'll keep fighting."

"Terry…"

"I've fought tougher fights in much worse conditions.  Don't worry about me…  I'll be just fine."

Mary slowly formed a smile on her lips and then grabbed Terry in a hug.  She was happy that he was finally starting to open up a little bit.  Even though it was small, it was a start and this was just the beginning.  What a way to open up a relationship sitting in a bathroom just before a big event.  Life wasn't always what you saw in movies and video games.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

_I guess you over did it…_

_What?_

_Look at yourself.  You went all the way and then some tough guy._

_What are you talking about?_

_You'll learn in time.  Here's a better idea, why don't you get up and stop worrying everyone._

_Everyone…  Who?_

_You know!  Your dad, sister, friend…  King._

_King…  KING!_

Ryo shot up from his rested position.  Within an instant his body took the initial shock of his condition and he jittered and gasped at the new found pain.

"RYO!"  King screamed after seeing Ryo spring up like he did.  She looked him over and watched as his body moved without energy.  He collapsed back on the futon without giving a second thought to what was going on.

Takuma's face shot out from behind the dojo.  He was almost finished with Robert's healing and was very surprised to hear King yell out like that.

"What's going on?"  He asked.

"IT'S RYO!  HE'S UP!"  She screamed back.  King was a little too excited for the moment and forgot to take note of Ryo's sensitive state.  Takuma quickly rushed over there to check Ryo's condition for himself.

"Ryo…"  He calmly said hoping King will take a cue from him.

"Hey…  Dad…"  Ryo coughed.  He was still very weak and let everyone know that with his frail tone of voice.

"Remarkable…  I didn't expect him to get up until at least tomorrow morning," Takuma pointed out.  "His body is more resilient than I imagined."

"Thanks for…  The vote…  Of confidence…"  Ryo replied.  His breathing remained quick and short.  It was hard to tell that this was the legendary invincible tiger laid out as if he were a vegetable.

"Ryo, calm down.  Don't waste your energy on speaking," Takuma said while trying his best to comfort his son.  "Yuri!  Is the stew ready yet?"  He yelled into the kitchen.

"Yes sir!  Coming right up!"  Yuri ran straight out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl in hand.  She'd been cooking for at least two hours and took no consideration in her own personal affairs.  Yuri placed the bowl next to Ryo as King and Takuma helped lift him up.  They started feeding Ryo a spoonful at a time.  Soon, the whole bowl was empty and they let Ryo back down in a resting position.

Ryo closed his eyes and tilted his head sideways.  He felt exhausted and if he was going to do anything right now it was sleep.

"Ryo…"  King whispered.  She wasn't in the happiest of moods but there is nothing that can change that now.  All she wanted to do was sit there and wait until Ryo was back to normal.

"Let's get ready King," Takuma stated.

"No."

"No?"  He replied.

"I…  I want…  I want to stay here…  With Ryo," she whimpered.

Takuma smiled.  His son had definitely made a fine choice.  He placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.  "You truly are the king of hearts…  But there is nothing we can do for him now."

King agreed physically but not mentally.  She got up and gave Ryo one last glance before heading towards the staircase.

"What should we do now?"  Yuri asked.

"Yuri…  Stay here and watch over Ryo," Takuma ordered.  "We must leave for the final match."

"But sir!"  King yelled out.  "We can't fight without Ryo!"

"Yes dad, I thought it had to be a four person team.  Without Ryo we have no team!"  Yuri pointed out.

"I know…  That's why we're going…  To forfeit."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Man these fight locations keep getting weirder and weirder…"  Joe stated.  Team Fatal Fury was standing in the middle of a giant warehouse.  Terry has lived in South Town most of his life and he's never noticed a place like this.  It seemed so clean and high tech for its location.  Terry felt there was something up with this situation.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Andy replied.

"Keep your cool guys…"  Terry said.  "The fight hasn't even started yet."

"Yea, but it doesn't mean we don't have the right to complain…"  Joe responded.  No one could argue with that.  Or actually, no one wanted to.  They just stood around the warehouse waiting for their opponents to show up which seemed like the longest time in this place.

"We are a bit early," Mary declared while looking down at her watch.  "Let's just be patient."

"Easier said than done," Joe replied.  "I'm bored outta my mind!"

The warehouse doors opened allowing natural light to enter.  A shadow of three warriors appears as they enter the building.  The Art of Fighting team had arrived.

"Hello…"  Joe quipped.  "Well it's about time mis amigos.  Did you stop for a burrito or something?"

"Joe!"  Andy shouted while smacking Joe in the chest with the back of his hand.  Joe allowed his comedic repertoire to end as they watched the other team enter the fighting square.

Takuma, King, and Robert were on hand.  The walked firm and strong not letting the other team know of their short comings even though it was probably broadcasted on television.  They moved in as if there was nothing wrong and prepared to do the inevitable.

"Well guys…  Shall we begin," Terry mentioned without giving consideration for their missing team member.

"No," Takuma replied.

"No?!"  Joe snapped, "Then what's the deal?!"

"The deal is…"  Takuma said.  It was the next two words were going to be the hardest he would ever have to say.  "We forfeit."

"What did you say?!"  Andy shot without hearing the words right.  Forfeit wasn't in the Bogard dictionary and he needed to hear it again before it could be confirmed.

The cameramen began to shake.  The situation was even nervous for them and they were just watching it.  The fans back in the arena must be feeling the same intensity.

"HOLD IT!"  Called a voice from the warehouse entrance.  Everyone turned their eyes to face the man who interrupted the tournament.  The camera panned on the man and the arena exploded with cheers so loud the cameras almost felt like they were shaking.

It was Ryo Sakazaki.

Behind him, his sister Yuri stood there with a worried expression over her face.  Takuma couldn't believe it as well as the others.  He moved forward as if there was nothing wrong with him to begin with.  Ryo approached his teammates and they couldn't be happier to see him feeling and walking like his old self.

"RYO!"  King cheered while giving him a hug.  Ryo cringed a bit but graciously accepted it.

"I'm a little banged up…  But I'll be fine."

"Ryo…"  Takuma said in a faint whisper.  "How?"

"Let's not worry about how right now," he replied.

"But Ryo!"  King protested.

"Don't worry about me.  Let's deal with them first," he said while pointing towards the Fatal Fury team.  "We've got a tournament to win!"

"Right!"  The other three cheered.  Ryo put on his best smile and was ready to go as any of the rest of them.  Before he stepped into the fighting square he felt his gi being tugged.  Yuri didn't want to let him go just yet.

"Are you…  Sure you can fight Ryo?"  She asked.

Ryo gave her a wink when no one was looking.  "Don't think about it…  Just remember what I told you at home.  Everything will be fine."

Yuri smiled but it wasn't truly expressing her emotions.  She was still worried about Ryo's condition and didn't want him to go out there and hurt himself some more.  There is nothing she could do now, the fight was about to begin.

"So Ter, what are we waiting for?"  Joe asked.

"Just be patient Joe, let them make the first move.  We'll act on it afterwards," Terry replied.  Joe gave a classic tough-guy nod and prepared himself for battle whenever that may be.

The Art of Fighting Team was giving their final conference.  Ryo had everyone in a huddle.  This was an important moment for each and every one of them.  They wanted to make sure that everything would go as smoothly as possible.

"What are we going to send in first Ryo?"  Robert pondered.

"Well, it's not you.  You need to say off of that foot," Ryo interrupted.

"What?!"  Robert replied.  "Is this coming from the half dead tiger?"

"Think about it.  You're power is in your legs.  How good will you be at half strength?"  Ryo responded.  Robert didn't have any beef with that.  Ryo was right.

"So what will I do then?"  Robert asked.

"You're the striker.  At least you can lend a hand with a Shoukouken attack that doesn't require any leg movements."

"Got it."

"Dad.  You'll go first."

"Are you sure that's wise Ryo?"

"Trust me.  They're saving their big guns for last so if we mow through the weaker ones, we'll have more strength to fight the bigger fight towards the end," Ryo stated.  Takuma nodded and smiled.

"Brilliant analysis Ryo…"  Takuma replied.

"Thanks dad.  King," He said while looked towards her.  She was ready and standing at attention.

"You'll go in when I instruct.  If my dad should happen to make it to Andy or Terry, I'll go in before you."

"Are you sure Ryo?"  King asked.  She had to show some consideration for his condition.  If she had it her way Ryo would go last or even be the striker.  He was taking a big risk and she hoped that luck would be on his side.

"Yea.  Terry and Andy are machines in the ring.  If I can slow them down, you can finish them off."

_Slow them down…  Doesn't he have any confidence?_  She thought.  King nodded at Ryo and hoped that he was sure of his plan.

Ryo smiled after the conference had ended.  "Alright guys…  Let's do it!"

*          *          *          *          *

Takuma stepped into the fighting square.  He cracked the muscles in his shoulders to loosen his body up and then threw on his fighting stance.

Joe quickly jumped into the ring with a nice large grin on his face.  "Sakksai Ikuze!"  He taunted while pointing at Takuma.  Joe went into his standard energetic kick boxing stance and was ready to go.

"Ready to go old timer?"  Joe taunted.  Takuma only responded with a grunt.  The next words spoken would only be a war cry.

"Kououken!"

A ball of ki flew right towards Joe.  He swayed to the right and allowed it to pass him and smash against a ventilation shaft.  The massive dent was cue enough for Joe to keep his guard up and his mouth shut.

Takuma didn't let Joe get away with that comment.  He rushed forward while trying to reach out and grab Joe.  All he grabbed was empty air.

"Slash Kick!"  Joe cried while jumping forward.  His foot smashed into a guard rail and almost kicked it completely off.  Takuma moved away just in time but prepared his guard for the worst.  Joe unleashed more kicks and knee strikes all over Takuma's body but none of them connected where they should have.  Joe was trying to soften him up and at best, keep him on his toes.

None of Joe's attacks were prevailing.  His legs were starting to get tired from all of the assaulting so unless he found a few of Takuma's weak points.  Joe leaned his foot back and went for his famous knee strike.

"TIGER – !"

"Migitawa Shya!"

*SMACK*

Joe took a deep shot right in the gut.  It sent him straight into the ground and into a roll all the way back into a standing steel pipe.  Joe's body jittered after the initial shock but he soon regained his standing position as if the punch didn't even put a scratch on him.  He was glad that he had cement abs to be able to take a punch like that.  Joe put up his fighting stance and was ready to go again.

Takuma admitted to himself that this kid was strong.  Usually when he connected with that punch straight on, opponents wouldn't move the same but Joe looked as if he was hit with a light gust of wind.

"HURRICANE UPPER!"  Joe screamed.  Takuma was caught off guard with his thoughts and was swept backwards into a stack of metal crates.  He heard a weird combination of cracking and crunching sounds after the collision but pushed those thoughts aside.  Takuma used the crates as leverage and picked himself up.  If Joe got the best of him that easily, then there's no telling what he would do later in the match.

"ORAAAHHH!"  Joe screamed while performing his Golden Heel attack.  His foot was stopped, however, by the beefy forearm of Takuma Sakazaki.

Takuma could feel the ki radiating from Joe's attack.  He may be young but he definitely was a skilled fighter.  Joe's heel kept pressing downward hoping to strike some part of Takuma's body but to no avail.  Takuma was a lot stronger that he thought.  He threw his arm up as hard as he could and Joe went with it.  Joe flew into the air and upon his landing, crashed into a bundle of steel pipes that soon buried his body in metal.

Joe cried out in one of his well known _what the hell_ hollers.  Steel pipes were even as brutal standing still than in the hands of a thug.  Joe knocked away most of the pipes and as he stood up the remaining steel cylinders slide off of his body.  This wasn't like the first hit.  Joe really felt it and he knew two or three more like that would put him down for the count.

Joe took a deep breath and let out a great sigh.  "I guess I'll have to take the fight more seriously now."  And with that Joe moved in.

He was as quick as lightning.  Joe moved as if there were no laws of physics and charged right into for Takuma.  He unleashed a flurry of punches in a somewhat organized manner.  Takuma covered his chest as best as he could but he was no match for Joe's Explosion Punch.

Takuma took a fist right between the sternum and the stomach.  He spat in agony but his mouth wouldn't remain open for long.

"TIGER KICK!"

Joe's knee smashed right into Takuma's open jaw.  The kick sent him flying backwards into a pile of empty wooden crates and Takuma's body destroyed them there after.  Takuma didn't know what hurt worse, the punch, the kick, or the landing.  All three of them were making his nerves jump up and sing.

Takuma lifted himself from his helpless position and proceed forward.  He thought it was now best to give Joe a full serving of Kyokugen karate even if it was going to be one spoon at a time.  He threw his fist back and lunged for a fierce punch aimed right at Joe's chest.

*SMACK*

Joe countered Takuma's punch with one of his own.  Anyone could block or even counter an attack but it takes a real man to stand toe-to-toe and fight with all of your power.  Joe got a chance to fight the only master of Kyokugen karate and he would not waste the opportunity.  Joe threw a kick straight for Takuma's rib cage but was blocked by his kick instead.  Takuma had the same mentality as Joe.  This was going to be a war.

Punch after punch, kick after kick, Joe and Takuma wouldn't let up.  There were no blocks and fists never hit open air.  The whole fight sounded like two guys cracking each others knuckles over and over again.  This is where real strength lies; in the ability to best your opponent by overpowering their attacks with one of your own.

*SMASH*

Joe and Takuma both missed their punches but landed them in a more adequate place.  They both took fists right on the side of their jaws and sent each other packing the way they came.  Each of them slid across the metal floor and came to a screeching halt but neither of them wanted to back down.  The both got up as quick as they could and prepared for the worst.

"Kououken!"  Takuma cried while firing his ki projectile.  Joe moved quickly to counter.

"HURRICANE UPPER!"

Both attacks consumed each other and were instantly halted.  Neither Joe nor Takuma took the intelligent road and just went with their instincts.  They went at it once again.

"Hien Shippuu Kyaku!"

"Slash Kick!"

*SMACK*

Both fighters flew back once again.  The impact of their feet was too much for either of them to take and sent them screaming into the ground.  This time, it was a lot harder for them to get back on their feet.

Joe let out a lot of heavy breaths.  This man he called old timer had nearly depleted all of his energy.  Joe could barely stand let alone continue a fight.  He would have to pull into his reserves to come out the victor in this match.

Takuma could see Joe loosing stamina but that doesn't help if you're feeling the same way.  He knew he had fought a long hard battle but the fight wasn't over yet.  If it was going to be decided it would be in one final attack and it would have to be their best.

Joe prepared his offense.  Takuma was strong but slow.  All he'd have to do was be faster than his strength and he would succeed.  The only thing he had to do was know what Takuma was going to do next.

Takuma took a step back and held his hands at one side of his waist.  He began to focus his energy to a single point of his body.

"HAOUUU!!!"  Takuma screamed.

Joe's body froze.  He heard that sound one time before and he woke up a day later not knowing what he was hit by.  Joe had to act fast.  He knew he had only seconds left.

"SHOUKOUKEN!"

*CRASH*

Takuma's giant ki blast laid out a path of destruction.  The warehouse was also blessed with a new circular window.

"SCREW!"

_What the - ?!_  Takuma thought just before he was swept up by the newly surrounding air.

"UPPAHHHHH!!!"

Takuma was picked up by the tornado like attack and shot into the back wall.  His body made a sickening thud and landed motionless on the ground.

"FATHER!"  Ryo yelled while running towards Takuma.  He'd never seen his dad take a hit like that and not move.

Takuma lifted himself up.  "How…  Could…  He?"  He asked.  It was normal of him to question his opponent's strength after loosing a match but he was really inquiring about how he lost.  The Haou Shoukouken was an invincible move.  There was no way he could have dodged it and set up a counter attack that quickly.

Ryo smiled.  He knew his dad would be fine after a few hours of rest.  "He rolled dad."

"Rolled?"  Takuma said surprisingly as he regained his footing.  Yuri was quick to his aid and was ready to tend to his wounds.

"Yes dad…  Right under it…"

Takuma smiled.  "I guess my…  Intensity wasn't… Strong enough."

"Just rest dad…  We'll take care of the rest," Ryo replied.  "King!"  He screamed.  She was standing back in their corner waiting for Ryo to return.  His sudden call to her gave her a small chill up her spine.

Ryo quickly ran to her.  "You're up."

"But – "

"Joe's a kick boxer.  So are you.  The difference is he's tired and you're not," Ryo stated.  King could feel the confidence flow in her blood.  She gave Ryo a wink and jumped into the fighting square.

Joe continued letting out heavy breaths.  That last attack really took a lot out of him.  He was sweating like a freshman football player during hell week.

"Joe!"  Terry called.  "Are you good to go?"

Joe didn't say anything.  He just raised his hand and gave Terry and his team a thumbs up.  Everyone else felt it as a sigh of relief but couldn't help but wonder what Joe's condition.

King put on her fighting stance without the thought of taunting.  There was no bullshit in her attitude.  She just wanted to fight.

Joe moved forward.  He knew the only way to beat a kick boxer was either wait and counter or completely lay out an onslaught of kicks and punches until the opponent goes down.  He was tired of waiting and countering.

Joe threw a quick roundhouse but only smacked air.  King swayed away from the initial strike and prepared to do so for the rest of the fight.  If she could just get Joe kicking he'll get over exhausted and won't be able to stand up for the rest of the fight.

"TIGER KICK!"

King flipped back.  She felt the heat of Joe's kick all the way through her outfit and was thankful that she moved away in time.  Joe landed only a few feet from her and continued his attacks.  If he didn't make any contact soon, he'd be too tired to even block.

Joe took a step in without striking.  If he got close enough, the only thing King could do was block.  He read her moves exactly.  Joe took a nice good strike at King's open rib cage.

"OOF!"  He cried as he felt a shock hit his rib cage as well.  King took the first hit in stride and looked good enough to take twenty more of those.  Joe could feel King wanting to go for a test of strength and he kindly obliged.

King and Joe went at it.  The kicked at each other like there was no tomorrow.  They both cringed after each strike but never gave up.  The biggest sign of weakness was falling during a test of strength.  They both knew this and went at it even harder after thinking about it.

Joe's body moved harder and harder after every hit he took.  He wasn't doing as much damage as he was taking and his body let him know that about a few seconds after every strike.  Joe went for one last kick with all of his might and hoped to do at least some damage before he fell over.

King felt her ribs take a hard hit; the hardest she had ever felt, but it wasn't enough to keep her down.  The pain caused her to not notice her adversary's position and upon looking up, there Joe was grasping his damaged sides.

Joe slid to his feet, slowly at first, and then sprang up as if nothing was wrong.  His body told another story as he could barely keep his stance in tact.  King noticed this and didn't hesitate to move forward.

King threw a heavy amount of kicks, all of them hit, and Joe was reeling.  She didn't need to lay out a full dose of her strength, just enough to knock him down and keep him there.

"TRAP SHOT!"  King cried while rocking Joe's face.  She unleashed a flurry of kicks all over his body and Joe careened onto the ground.  He jittered after taking in the full mass of the blows but wasn't about to kiss the floor just yet.

"JOE!"  Andy shouted.  He knew Joe couldn't take much more.  He'd already been in an exhausting fight with the master of Kyokugen there was no shame in throwing in the towel.

Quitting wasn't in Joe's very small personal dictionary.  He got up as best as he could and got ready for another volley.  Joe wasn't going down until he was dead.

King kept a tight stance but inside she was going nuts.  She had no idea Joe Higashi had this kind of resilience.  If she couldn't stop him now, there is no way Ryo could take all three of Fatal Fury's best.

"SLASH KICK!"

_Huh - ?!_  "AHHHH!!"  She cried while taking a foot right in her stomach.  She let her guard down and she didn't even realize it until it was too late.  Now she was bent over and at the mercy of the kick boxing champion.

Joe thrusted his knee back in King's gut.  She reacted in almost the exact same manner after receiving the Slash Kick.  Spit shot out of King's mouth and she was just glad that it wasn't blood.

Joe wasn't finished.  He used his leg as leverage and chucked King onto the opposite side of the fighting square.  King bounced and rolled all over the cold warehouse floor and stopped just shy of the wall.  She picked herself up and saw Joe coming at full force.  There was only one thing she could do in this situation and it was going to be a desperation move.

"TORNADO KICK!"

*THWACK*

Joe's head snapped back and sent his body with him.  He hit the ground hard and saw the black clouds blur his vision.  He desperately tried to get up but his body just wasn't responding.  Joe was finally out of steam.

King sighed.  She had pulled it off and almost ended up like Joe himself.  She was hurting but probably not as bad as Joe when he started his second match.  King was ready for another fight.

Terry and Mary pulled Joe aside.  He was bleeding from the lips and had several bruises around his rib cage.  They set Joe down and made him feel as comfortable as possible.

"Looks like you went all out Joe," Terry joked.

"Ye – Yea…"  Joe replied while trying to stop his body from shaking.  "I got…  Beat…  By…  A girl…  Again."

Terry gave a quiet chuckle but it didn't last for more than a second.  He motioned with his head for Andy to go next.  Before Terry could blink a second time, Andy was already in the fighting square with his stance ready.

King wasn't out of the fire yet.  Andy Bogard was up next and he was one of the roughest competitors in the game.  Ryo had previously told her what would happen if Andy got in the fighting square.  She quickly turned her glance over to her corner for some sign of advice from her team captain.

Ryo just gave a smile and nodded.  It was all of the guidance she needed.

"Zaneikan!"

Andy dashed forward.  King would have been caught completely off guard if Andy wasn't as loud as he was.  King dove to the side and caught herself in a roll.  Andy was testing King's fighting ability and adjusted his fighting style accordingly.

After regaining his fighting stance, Andy went after King.  He threw kicks and punches at King not wanting any to penetrate her defenses but to measure her guard and work his style over it there after.  This kind of knowledge makes Andy the experienced fighter that he is.

King was actually feeling alright.  All of the attacks struck her arms and they've been through so much hell over the weeks, this was actually a bit of a relief.  Soon enough though, Andy's attacks became stronger.  He was holding back and now it seemed he was going full force.  King ended up dodging a few attacks rather than blocking them just to give her arms a rest.

"Sho Ryuu Dan!"

Andy's knuckles smacked King's double block and sent her arms in opposite directions leaving her chest wide open.  Time was frozen for King as she saw Andy place his next attack.

"Hishouken!"

*THWACK*

King took a palm full of ki straight in the chest and it sent her flying backwards.  She landed on the ground and her body responded by making a loud thud noise rattling the bones of her back.  She quickly rolled back on her feet and waited for any other quick trick Andy had up his sleeve.

Andy didn't follow up.  He knew all of King's weak points in her defense and could use and abuse them until the fight was over.  King had no intention of throwing in the towel no matter how much more prepared Andy was.

"Double Strike!"

Andy saw the dual ki blast almost seconds before it was shot.  "Geki Hisouken!"  He cried while countering the attack.  Both of King's strikes were instantly absorbed in Andy's ki ball as if they did no damage at all.  Andy finished his attack and kept his stance firm.  No matter how well he was doing in the fight, he never let his guard down.  
  


King had no idea what to do.  She was completely baffled by Andy's style of fighting.  Mai told her he was trained by her grandfather but Andy and Mai's styles are very different.  Before she could reminisce about the Shiranui martial arts, Andy was at it again.

Andy threw more kicks and punches at King.  All she could do was block and dodge.  She had no strategy, no focus, and no previous fighting experience with him.  Andy was too much for a finals rookie like her to handle.

"Kuu Ha Dan!"

King ducked and Andy past right over her.  She'd seen how dangerous Andy's half circle kick was and wanted to have no part in it.  Andy landed a nice distance away but King knew that he could be deadly at all sides of the fighting square.

"Zaneikan!"

King stepped back to sway the attack but came into an unfortunate scenario.  She kicked a pipe Joe had knocked away and ended up only moving a few inches to the left before Andy got there.

*SMACK*

King was brushed aside by Andy's dashing elbow.  She landed in front of a pile of metal crates and grasped her ribs.  Andy got a lot closer than she realized and her body made sure to tell her.  She slowly got back to her feet using the crates as leverage and put up her fighting stance with not as much enthusiasm as before.

_Com'on King!  Wake up!_  She yelled at herself.  _He knows exactly what I'm doing!_

_So…  Do something he's not expecting!_  Her inner voice beckoned.

_That's it!_  She cheered.

"ZANEIKAN!"

_Uh oh…  THINK!_

"TORNADO KICK!"

Andy reeled backwards.  He took two straight kicks right in his jack and it was his turn to kiss the floor.  The force of his dash plus the weight of his knock back equaled a world of hurt for Andy.  He got back to his feet but not as quick has he usually would.  He checked his jaw to make sure there was no permanent bone damage and after a few seconds of that he was feeling alright.  King was slowly starting to slip away from the predicted path and onto a whole new level of her game.

Andy took off into the air.  He had to test whether King had figured him out or just gotten lucky.  He was about to pull off one of his favorite moves that was coincidently named after his sensei in the Shiranui temple.

"SHYAAA!"  He cried while dashing downwards and an oblique angle.  King had never seen this move before so she took a quick dash back to avoid the attack.  Before Andy landed she could sense something was a miss.  An attack like that leaves him very open for strikes upon landing so why would he try this on King in such a crucial part of the match.  That answer came low and fast.

Andy swept low at King's feet.  He was already too late.

"TRAP SHOT!"

"ARGH!"  He cried while taking another shot to the jaw.  There was no rest for the weary, however.  He began to feel the length of King's twelve strike attack and was finished of by a searing roundhouse that smacked his already fragile mouth.

Andy took to the ground and rolled away.  He swept himself to his knees and placed his knuckles under his lips.  Blood began to drip on the back of his hand guard coating it with a darker color.

"Venom Strike!"

"OOOFFF!!"  Andy cried while taking a ki blast straight in his chest.  He rolled backwards from the momentum and made a stop as soon has his body hit the opposing wall.

King was tired but not out of it.  Her sides were hurting and her body didn't move like it could this morning but she still had enough left to finish this fight.  Andy had never expected someone to take charge like King did and he too was nearing the end of his rope.  It was all left to stamina now.

Andy picked himself up looking like a raggedy drunk on his last bottle.  His chest kept pumping in and out letting all of the air in the surrounding area circulate and exit as quickly as possible.

"Surprise Rose!"

_Oh shit!_  Andy roared in his mind.  His rest was no longer in sight.  He had to counter and counter fast.

"Sho Ryuu Dan!"

*SMACK*

Andy's face took another assault by King's heel but not without getting a lick of his own.  He felt his knuckle dig into King's side and she, as well as Andy, crashed onto the ground holding their respective injuries.

King was clenching her ribs.  She heard a snap in the midst of the attacks and knew she wasn't going to be moving as well as she was for a long time.  Not with a broken rib in her body.

Andy was the first to get up.  It was almost a full fifteen seconds before he made it but he was the first one standing, that's all that mattered.  Andy couldn't see straight.  After taking several blows to the head, his vision was all blurred.  In his condition, he couldn't walk much less continue to fight.  He was going to need a good day's rest to get over this one.

From her humbled state, King also arose to her feet.  She was looking a lot worse than Andy and she didn't even have a stance to put up.  Her arm was draped across her side clenching her one broken bone and she knew that her fight was over.

*TIME OVER*

_Saved…  By… The bell…_  King thought as she collapsed.  Ryo quickly ran over there and cradled her prone body.

"King?!  KING?!"  Ryo yelled.  She looked liked a fallen angel who just had a run in with the devil.  She was lucky to have a pulse let alone keep her face free from scars and marks of blood.

King opened her eyes but briefly.  She confirmed that it was indeed Ryo that was holding her and she smiled as she shut her eyes.  King had done the best she could and there was nothing more she could do in this consciousness.  Ryo carried her over without saying another word and Yuri was already there and waiting for her treatment.

"Andy!"  Mary shouted as she and Terry went over to him.  Andy was frozen minus his breathing.  He threw up his hands in his regular fighting stance and was ready to go another round.

"Forget it…"  Terry said in his normal tone.  He placed his hand on Andy's shoulder and gently pulled him aside.  Andy didn't have the strength to argue much less try and fight of Terry.  "You've done your part now.  Just leave the rest to me."

Andy cracked a half smile.  His face was so soar he didn't even want to laugh much less talk.  Mary laid Andy down and began to treat him as she did Joe who was now looking almost one hundred percent.

Ryo looked back to make sure everything was ok with his father.  Takuma was nestled safely with ice packs on various parts of his body and was looking alright for now.  Yuri was tending to King's injuries as best as she could but Ryo knew that King would need to seek definite medical attention after the match is over.  If Ryo had it his way he would put the entire fight one hold but he knew he couldn't do that.  All of the fighters must compete until their team is defeated.  That is the contract he signed and that's the way it shall be in King of Fighters.

"ORA – ORA!"  Ryo taunted.  He didn't waste any time.  He knew he wasn't at full strength, he knew he might end up getting worse after the match has ended, and he knew he was going up against South Town's Legendary Wolf.  That didn't matter a bit to Ryo.  He was calm and collected, the only way he knew how to fight.  Fear and anger weren't tools on his workbench and all he was concerned about now was the fight.

Terry turned around and noticed his opponent's impatience.  He happily obliged though, knowing how well a good fight comes around these days and jumped into the fighting square.  He tipped his cap slightly over at Ryo and began his classic taunt as he did for so many years.

"Hey!  Com'on!!  Com'on!!"

Ryo gave a half smile and diminished it after a single second had passed.  It was now time for the real fight to begin.  The Unbeatable Dragon versus the Legendary Wolf.  This is the show down the world is watching.  This is the fight to determine who is the greatest fighter in the new millennium.  This is the final match in the King of Fighters Tournament.

_Let's do it!_  Ryo screamed to himself as he charged forward.

_This is it!_  Terry shouted as he approached Ryo.

*SMACK*

Ryo's fist met Terry's hand and vice versa.  The two were old rivals and knew almost everything there was to know about one another.  The only way either of them were going to win this fight is if they both completely changed styles and that was the farthest scenario that fell off of the tree.

Terry and Ryo went at it.  They weren't going to pull any punches to test each other.  They both knew how strong the other was and struck each other at full force.  Terry could feel after each strike that Ryo had gotten stronger and it was the same for Ryo.  That didn't matter much.  Their styles were still the same.  That's what counted in a fight against experience.

After a streak of constant attacks and blocks, Ryo's fist finally found its way into Terry's stomach.  Terry responded with a cringing cough but didn't let it slow him down.  He grabbed Ryo's arm he punched him with and threw his shoulder into his chest.  Ryo coughed much like Terry but the Lone Wolf didn't let up then.  Terry tossed Ryo over to the other side of the warehouse as hard as his muscles would allow.

Ryo took to the air but landed gracefully.  He was at his knees but the only thing that he was concerned about was the first attack at his chest.  Terry gave him a good first hit but looking over at his opponent, Ryo knew he got a nice one in too.

"Power Wave!"  Terry cried as he smashed his ki filled fist into the ground.  A short and fast wave of energy was released and was sent right into Ryo's direction.

"Kououken!"  Ryo called has he threw his ball of ki right back at Terry.  Both attack collided into one another and left a high cloud of smoke and debris.  Terry was surprised to see Ryo's projectile reach all the way across the fighting square.  Ryo improved in ways Terry hadn't even imagined.

"Hein Shipuu Kyaku!"  Shouted Ryo as he broke through the smoke and aimed straight for Terry's skull.  Terry blocked both strikes with his beefy forearm but was pushed back from all of Ryo's momentum.  Ryo landed inches away from Terry and was ready to go some more.

"Power Charge!"

"ARGGGGHHHH!!!"  Ryo screamed while taking the shot right in the bread basket.  He rolled backwards away from Terry and the fight and slammed into a metal crate.  His back was in pain no less but the real punishment came from the shoulder tackle.  Terry hit Ryo right where the slash had been made and the nerves were singing like there was no tomorrow.

Terry heard just how much pain Ryo was in and realized he had found the weak point.  It wouldn't do Terry much good though since most of his strongest attacks struck the head and chest.  Terry would have to do a lot of work if he wanted to put Ryo down.

Ryo picked himself up as best as he could without looking too hurt.  It was tough to hide though.  Ryo was really battling the pain inside.  He set himself into his Kyokugen stance and was ready to go again.

"Burn Knuckle!"  Terry shouted as he charged Ryo.  That attack had great power potential but was weak at greater distances.  Ryo could see it coming a mile away and prepared himself thusly.

Ryo allowed Terry to pass him, giving up the opportunity to block and counter and went straight for the open shot.  It was a risk knowing Terry's speed and recovery time but Ryo was willing to risk it.  This was King of Fighters after all.  If you don't go all out, don't go at all.

"Hein Shipuu Kyaku!"

Terry took two short hits right at the back of his skull that sent his hat flying clean off and it was his turn to fall.  He landed hard on the ground and rolled a few times before the momentum died.  His face smacked the concrete like no other time and felt foolish for allowing Ryo to have such an open opportunity like that.

Both of them had gotten good hits on each other but it wasn't enough.  Terry sprung up from his fallen state and charged after Ryo.  In kind, Ryo dashed at Terry and the punches and kicks started to fly.

*SMACK*

Terry connected with a mean haymaker right across the face.

*THWACK*

Ryo followed with a viscous uppercut to Terry's jaw.

In this volley of attacks; more were starting to hit their projected targets than before.  Blocking was only used if their strikes were stopped by the others attacks.  Ryo and Terry were going all out but the big surprise was the looks on their teammate's faces.

They all couldn't believe how hard their captain was fighting.  Terry usually leveled the situation and, in his calm state, could take on any fighter without having to worry about his emotions getting to him.  Ryo was more or less the same, only when he got into a fight, it only took a few kicks and punches to take his opponent out.  This was definitely not the case tonight.  Both of them were fighting as hard as they could for a reason not known to anyone but themselves and, like the fan said this morning, the real winners are going to be the fans.

"BURN KNUCKLE!"

"ARRRGH!!!"  Cried Ryo as he took Terry's ki swarmed fist right in the side of the head.  He rolled his body to the side but didn't fall although he badly wanted to.  He saw a nice opening right in Terry's midsection and wanted to swing full force.  Ryo pulled back and went for his Kohou Senpuu Ken.

*CRACK*

"YARRGH!!"  Terry shouted.  Ryo's fist smacked his bruised sternum and Terry moved a few feet back to collect himself.  Terry clenched his chest in order to sooth the pain but quickly removed it after he realized exactly where he was.  He had just pulled a fighting no-no.  He gave Ryo a weak point to exploit.

Terry shook off the pain and resumed his fighting stance although it didn't have the same energy as the beginning of the fight.  He quickly moved in and started all over again.

Ryo took the defensive.  He allowed Terry to strike as much as he wanted and it was for the better.  Ryo's stomach was still feeling the force of the last hit it took and Ryo wasn't ready to move at full speed.

Terry thrusted a strong side kick right into both of Ryo's arms and it sent him back, breaking his balanced stance and giving Terry another opening.

"POWER – !"

Ryo looked up and saw Terry coming down hard with his hat backwards and his fist glowing.  He only had one opportunity and exactly the right move for this situation.

"KOHOU!"

"DUN – KRAAAGH!!"  Terry spat.  Ryo's fist hit the money spot dead in Terry's chest.  Terry collided with the ground like never before, his hand was wrapped tightly around his chest.

Ryo looked over at Terry and saw his half seated position.  He had found the strongest and most effective attack and was ready to utilize it to its full extent.  Ryo moved in as Terry was picking himself up and had his next attack lined up in his mind.

Terry saw Ryo coming and prepared a counter-strike as Ryo did previously.  He saw Ryo's fist clenched toward his side and knew another uppercut was coming.

"KOHOU!"

Terry rolled forward almost hitting Ryo's fist but barely skidded away.  He swung his flying leg into the air to strike at the unexpecting Ryo.

"CRACK SHOT!"

"KAAAAH!!"  Ryo cursed as he took Terry's heel into his shoulder.  He fell to the ground like a meteor and firmly grasped his bruised shoulder.

Terry moved back.  He was using this time to rest and recuperate.  Ryo was down but he wasn't going to be out.  Terry's lungs were pounding in and out intaking and releasing oxygen like never before.  Another few minutes of this and Terry would be out of it.

Mary surveyed the situation and she honestly couldn't take it.  Ryo was on the brink of defeat but then again, so was Terry.  They were almost evenly matched but Terry was the one who was standing.  Before she could process another thought, Terry looked back at her, dead in her eyes, and gave a nod.  She knew that was the signal for her to go in.

Ryo picked himself up.  He was unquestionably hurting but it wasn't going to keep him out of the fight.  Soon, all of the thoughts he had before the fight, why he was fighting, and who he was fighting for, began to wash away.  All he could think about was beating Terry and he could feel the fire build within him.

The sound of a whistle blowing woke Ryo up out of his stammer and before he could realize what was going on, he saw a blonde opponent trying to jump on top of him.  There was only one more he could think of to counter that.

"KOUOUKEN!"

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"  Mary screamed while taking the ki blast to the chest.  She still flew forward but not at the same angle.  She crashed into a pile of crates and didn't move at all after that.

Ryo couldn't believe what he had just done.  His body was frozen.  He had saw King in his eyes and threw a Kououken at her.  He didn't know what to think.  The fight was a blur in his memory, that is, until he heard a wolf charging right at him.

"OVERHEAT!"

Ryo dove to the side but he was a little too slow.  His legs were clipped by Terry's shoulder and it sent him off into a direction he'd never even heard about.  Ryo managed to take minimal damage but then could hear Terry's fist smack the ground.

"GEYSERRRRR!!!"

The shockwave sent Ryo's body up from the ground and almost to his feet.  Ryo couldn't believe his luck but didn't thrive in it.  He found an open spot on Terry's body and went for it full blast without the thought of hesitation.

"ICHIGEKI HISSATSUUUU!!!"

*CRACK*

"GRAAAARRGGGGHHHH!!!"  Terry cried as he was sent flying.  He was spinning like a missile and was moving just as fast until he crashed into a pile of wooden crates, sending the loose pieces up into the air like an explosion.

Ryo cringed after the strike.  The punch extended his gut a little too much than he had expected.  No matter though, Terry had taken the full blast of the punch and was in a whole new world of hurt.  Ryo had nothing to worry about.

"POWERRRRR!!!!!"

_What the?!_

"GEYSEERRRRRRRR!!!!"

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

*CRASH*

"YARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"  Ryo cringed as he took the spike of orange ki right in his weak point.  He was sent packing into a standing pile of metal crates and his body left a very large dent.  Ryo hit the ground and felt unconsciousness dance on the sides of his vision.

Terry moved away from the pile of wooden debris.  He was staggering no less and had one arm tied up while it was holding his chest.  Terry could almost swear he heard a crack and confirmed it when it hurt to take any kind of breaths.

Ryo could hear his heart pounding and it hurt every time.  His blood was burning but it wasn't killing him.  That was the only reassurance he needed to get back on his feet.  He picked himself up from the ground, which seemed to take forever, and put on his fighting stance as best as he could.

Terry couldn't believe it but then again realized how he was still standing.  They didn't have much left in them and it was all going to be decided here and now.

Ryo only had one move left that could put Terry down for the count.  He didn't know how much power it was going to have in it but in Terry's state, it would be more than enough.  Ryo clenched both hands to the side of his body and began to focus his energy.  Wind began to pick up and swarm all around him, kicking up any loose pieces of wood and trash as Ryo charged his attack.

Terry looked over at the sight and could feel Ryo's ki being radiated all over the warehouse.  He knew Ryo was going to try and end it with just one move and Terry wouldn't allow that.  Terry began to gather up his reserved energy and focus it on his one fist.  It was time for his hidden trump card.

King awoke to the blast of warm wind caressing her face.  She picked herself up, feeling a whole lot better than before, and looked at the site.  Her jaw wanted to drop as she saw the battered and beat up Ryo Sakazaki give it his all in one final attack.

"No…  Don't…"  King whispered to herself.  She didn't want to see him go all out at the cost of his health.  She wanted to run up and hold him down but her body wasn't receiving her brain's request.

"HAOUUUUUUUU!!!!"  Ryo shouted as he pumped up another large burst of ki into his hands.  He could feel a different kind of energy build within him but couldn't harness it like he did his regular ki energy.  Ryo didn't know what to make of it but quickly shifted it aside as he was about ready to release a mountain of ki.

"TERRY!"  Mary shouted from the sidelines.  She had seen this move done on opponents before and they had never looked the same afterwards.  Mary tried to warn him but Terry didn't flinch.  He only kicked back his knuckles in a pitch like motion and moved ahead as if there was nothing left but the moment they were living in.

"IWOKENNNNNNN!!!"

"SHOUKOUKEN!!!"

*CRASH*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  WOW!  How's that for some suspense?  Now I'm going to be hammered to punch out the next chapter ASAP.  This story is really cooking and it's approaching its end.  Ahhhh…  How sad.  Well, what are we going to expect next?  Who knows…  Well, me but that's beside the point.  The secrets of the past 10 chapters will all be revealed in Chapter 11 and I hope everyone will be there.  Thanks for your support guys, especially SilentNinja20 who helps me out with clearing up some back story elements and putting other characters in their best representation in my fic.  Take it easy guys and I'll see you next chapter.)


	12. Chapter 11: Secrets Revealed

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 11:  Secrets Revealed**

_What are you fighting for?_

"Geese…"  Terry hissed.  He stared down at his blonde haired opponent who looked like he could take down ten Terry's in one swipe.  Terry charged in, the memories of his deceased father weighed heavily on his mind.  He swung at Geese at full force but his attempts were futile.  Geese was way too powerful for Terry to handle.  Geese easily pushed Terry aside with a single blow and went for the finishing attack.

"REPUKEN!"

A wave of blue energy swarmed Terry's body.  He was engulfed in a fire of ki as Geese laughed at the site.  Now all of the Bogards have been defeated.  There was no stopping his plans now.

Terry felt his body wanting to collapse.  He was completely wasted by Geese's attack, but he didn't want to quit.  He wanted to keep on going until he was dead.  Something snapped in his brain.  It was no longer about fighting for revenge.  Terry wanted to fight Geese to defeat him and get stronger.  He wanted to be the strongest fighter in the world and he was going to start right here.

The blue energy quickly subsided.  Terry was standing firmly in the place of impact looking like he'd just been through hell and back.  He sure didn't feel that way.  Terry was ready to go a thousand rounds if necessary and was determined to come out the winner.  This was going to be the day Terry went from loner to legend.

*          *          *          *          *

_Who are you fighting for?_

"Wow Terry!!!  You're the greatest!"  A little kid cheered as Terry decimates another opponent.  South Town's hero was making his mark every year and everyone knew that when you face the Legendary Wolf, you're going to be in a lot of trouble.  Terry Bogard was one of the only positive things South Town could call its own.  His streak of victories all over the world made him the man to beat every year.  Before long, it could be argued that Terry Bogard was one of the strongest fighters in the world but Terry would never say that himself.  He was always looking for another challenge and would eventually find it every now and then.  That's how he got the nickname The Hungry Wolf.  Terry was a man who never quits, no matter how many opponents he faced, no matter how the odds were stacked, he always prevailed.  If you wanted to bet on a winner, Terry's name was right at the top.

"You see kid," Terry said while giving a thumbs up.  "All you have to do is eat your veggies and train every day and then you can become as strong as me."

"Really?!"  The child asked.  Terry gave him a wink and a smile.

"There's no doubt about it.  You're going to be one of the greats," he said as he picked the kid up on his shoulders and began to walk with him.  Moments like these made Terry feel less like a warrior and more like hero.

*          *          *          *          *

_Who are you?_

_Terry Bogard._

_Are you the strongest fighter in the world?_

_Maybe…  The world's a big place._

_Do you doubt your abilities?_

_Meh…  Not really.  I only fight with my full potential and it hasn't failed me yet._

_What do wish?_

_To become the strongest fighter in the world._

_And then what?  What will you do then?_

_My father once told me no matter how good you are, there's always someone better._

_So isn't your wish a little farfetched?_

_Not really…_

_Haven't you wasted your life on a wish that can't ever be fulfilled?  All you are doing is prolonging the inevitable._

_And what is that?_

_Death._

_Death?_

_Yes.  When the time comes you will die.  And then how will you feel knowing that you have not achieved your goals._

_…_

_You have wasted your life Terry Bogard.  You are just like Geese and the others you fought.  You only wish to accomplish your goals.  You are a selfish fighter.  No go off and die like the rest of the power hungry maniacs._

_That's a lie…_

_What?_

_I fight to make a difference.  My main goal is to be on top but it's not what I'm living for.  I live so that others won't have to suffer like I had to.  I fight so that others can have someone to look up to instead of fear.  I fight, so that others won't have to._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_What are you fighting for?_

"GIVE ME BACK YURI YOU BASTARD!"  Ryo shouted.  He was staring down and the glowing dome that was Mr. Big, a self-proclaimed 'big shot' around South Town.  He wanted to be as powerful as Geese Howard and decided to start small by pestering the Kyokugen Karate dojo and ticking off the heir to the Garcia Foundation.

Ryo kept his fighting stance high.  He was standing right in the heart of Mr. Big's building and the only way he would get out of there is either in luck or a stretcher.

Mr. Big swung high, Ryo saw the move all too easy and ducked while smashing his opponent with an uppercut.  The hit sent Big reeling.  He could tell he wasn't facing just a normal street fighter.  This guy was out to put Mr. Big down for the count and ruin his career and dreams.  There was no way he would let a lowly blonde-haired punk take him out that easily.

"KOUOUKEN!"

_What the – ?!_  "BAAAAARGH!"  Mr. Big cried as he took a flaming projectile right in his chest.  The blow didn't knock him down but it nearly knocked all the wind out of him.

"KOUOUKEN!"

_NOOOO – !!!_  "YAAAAARGH!!!"  Yelled Mr. Big as another fireball crashed into his body.  This time it sent him rolling backwards and into his mahogany desk.  He could feel the flame of each strike but what he couldn't sense is the anger behind each attack.  That is where Ryo had the advantage.  He poured all of his emotions into his attacks whereas Mr. Big was begging for his life.  Ryo Sakazaki proved that it takes a lot more than money and physical strength to be powerful.  It also requires your mind and soul and if you have that ideal pumping in your body, nothing can beat you.

"KOUOUKEN!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Who are you fighting for?_

"Come on Yuri…  Just once more."

"But I can't big brother…"  Yuri whined.  "It's too hard.  I'll never get it!"

"You're right," Ryo joked.  "With that attitude."

Yuri looked up at her brother with tears filling her vision.  Ryo turned his smile away and reached over to give his sister a hug.

"You know Yuri…  Everything is hard at first.  No one is expecting you to master it in a day."

"But!!!  But you know how dad is!!!"

Ryo smiled and continued.  "I know Yuri.  But father is a completely different person than you and I."

"Huh?"

"No matter how closely we are tied by blood or by water, we're always going to be different.  We'll have different personalities, different fighting styles, different dreams and ideals."

"…"

"The only thing we will ever have in common for our lifetime is our last name.  Yuri…  You're going to have to grow up one day and be your own person.  Nobody can make or break you.  You are you."

Yuri smiled and pushed Ryo back after a brief moment.  She got into her fighting stance and was ready for another try.

"Kououken!"

Yuri's blast traveled from her finger tips and inched forward stopping at least a foot away from where her hand was.  She looked over at Ryo a little disappointed.  Ryo just grinned and began to report his analysis.

"It's ok Yuri.  It's a lot better than before."

"But…  I'm no where near dad's or even your level!"

"That's not true."

"What?"

"Watch," Ryo said as he charged up his fist.  "Kououken!"  His blue strike of ki shot forward only going a little bit further than Yuri's.

"I wouldn't worry about it getting to father's level just yet…"

"But…  Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why have you only gone so far Ryo?  You've been training a lot longer than I have!"

"Hmph…"  Ryo said as if he didn't know what he was talking about.  "I guess that's something to improve one but I'm in no rush," Ryo said as he put a hand on his sister's shoulder.  "I've got all of the time in the world."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Who are you?_

_Ryo Sakazaki._

_Are you the strongest fighter in the world?_

_Who knows?  I don't care about that!_

_Do you doubt your abilities?_

_No…  I just can't judge others I haven't seen yet._

_What do you wish?_

_Nothing…  There isn't really anything I don't have that I want._

_That's a lie._

_What?_

_You want but you do not wish to waste your energy to go after.  You are lazy._

_WHAT?!_

_You want everything to happen to you.  You catch but don't pitch._

_That's a lie!_

_Then how come you waited so long to train for yourself.  Your goal wasn't to master Kyokugen but to prolong it because it's all you have in this world._

_…_

_Kyokugen as been your entire life's devotion.  And it will continue that way until your death because you want nothing else._

_That's…  Not…  TRUE!!!_

_What…?_

_I want and I feel and I need just like any normal person.  I dedicate my life to Kyokugen because it is more than just a fighting style.  It shapes the way you live, learn, and feel.  It makes to who you are.  It made me who I am._

_…_

_I am the unbeatable dragon!  There is no way I will loose to you or to anyone else!!!_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*SMASH*

Terry Bogard smashed into the warehouse wall.  Shards of plaster and dust filled the thick building air.  He cringed at the feeling of impact but there was another pain that was pasted on several parts of his body.  Terry was cut open in many parts of his body and the blood was beginning to spill.

On the other side of the warehouse, Ryo Sakazaki was also in a similar predicament.  His body was wrapped in pain and small spurts of blood appeared on his muscular build.  Nothing hurt worse than the thought of defeat so Ryo kept his eyes shut and awaited for the sound that would end his fighting journey.

"TERRY!!!"  Mary cried as she ran over to his wreckage.

"RYO!!!"  King yelled as she limped over to Ryo's body.

Mary quickly grabbed Terry from his prone state.  She lifted him up and brought him to a more comfortable position.  Terry's blood was soaking her skin and that made her twice as worried.

King found Ryo laid out on the ground, his head was pressed against a wall.  She used all of the strength and picked his heavy body up.  Her lavender costume was now stained with crimson liquid.

Terry opened his tight eyes.  He was lucky there wasn't much damage to his face or it would hurt a lot worse than it already did.  He looked past Mary's comforting position and saw exactly what his fist crashed into.  A solid block of ice.

It wasn't looking as good as it did upon its creation.  There was only fragments of it left, most of which were the culprits of Terry and Ryo's cuts and slashes.  Ryo picked himself up with the help of King and limped over to a more supportive structure.

"K – King…"  Ryo gasped while holding his midsection, "W – Wha – What are you…  Doing?"

"What?  What do you mean Ryo?"  She replied.  King had no idea what to say in this situation.  She wondered if Ryo was delirious after the hit.  "I…  I…"

"You're…  Injured…"  He said while trying to suck in every molecule of oxygen he could.  "Stay back…!"

"R – Ryo…"  King sighed.  After all of the pain he just endured he still had the heart to care for others other than himself.  Even when he nearly faced death Ryo still acted for the sake of his friends.

"Get…  Get out of here Mary!"  Terry shouted as he pushed her aside.  He sprung up as the adrenaline rushed back in his body.  Terry could feel the energy of another group of fighters hiding in the vicinity.  He set up his fighting stance and awaited any signs of danger.  King of Fighters had taken a whole new turn.

The figures hiding in the shadows approached the fighting square.  One of them had a rather large hairstyle, her clothes were pretty revealing but her black sword was drawing all of the attention from Terry's eyes.  Another behind her looked almost the same but had a red cape and dress other than the blue one.  She also had a sword that resembled that of the fencing sport but was a traditional silver.

Then there was another strange sound that proceeded it.  It had a mechanical crunch to it and every step sounded like it weighed a thousand pounds when it collided into the ground.  The being moved forward and was revealed as a blue and silver female figure.  There was no way that someone who moved like that could be human.

Finally, a blue haired girl moved in from the back.  She wore a purple jumpsuit and had a familiar yellow glove.  Terry quickly identified the similarities to another fighter but didn't put any strict confirmation until he got more details.

"Is this him?"  The blue haired girl asked while pointing at the Lone Wolf.  Terry could feel his heart skip a beat as the point of her index finger aimed right at his heart.

"Yes Kula…  This is Terry Bogard," the white dressed fighter responded.  Kula gave a nod and before any of the fighters could blink, shot out a blast of ice from each hand.

Terry would have ducked from the attempted strikes but none of them were aimed at him.  All of Kula's ice attacks struck the King of Fighters cameras and froze them within seconds, shattering the hidden circuits, and shorting out the live feed.  If the fighters could hear the fan's uproar after that.

The cameramen quickly dashed out of the warehouse not caring about their pay or their jobs and ran until their legs fell off.  The referees couldn't shut their eyes as they witnessed the sight before them.  Just before they could suck in another breath of air, two swords were caught underneath their necks and they were both paralyzed with fear.

"You've got two seconds…"  The blue swordswoman declared.  That was all the time the referees needed to put on their jets and leave the warehouse.  Foxy blinked once and upon opening her eyes, all innocent bystanders were gone.  Usually they wouldn't be so nice but being in a room full of goody two shoes, it wasn't really smart to upset them when they outnumbered you.

Soon, the mood was quiet.  No fighter in the building moved an inch.  They were all waiting on the eerie vibe they were getting from the new team that strolled into the building.  Everyone was waiting and it chilled their blood wondering about what they were waiting for.

"Terry Bogard…"  Kula calmly stated.  Ice swarmed around her extended hand and formed a short stabbing weapon.  "You cannot –"

*RUMBLE*

"What the?!"  Terry exclaimed while the floor beneath him began to shake.  Everyone else responded with their own gasps and yells as the metal floor they were once standing on began to sink into the ground.  The funny feeling everyone got when they stepped into the warehouse was reforming in their bodies again and it only spelt trouble.

Nobody moved.  It was as if the sudden shock of the moment put the whole setting at a halt.  Terry and the others felt relieved but now the sudden question about what was causing this unexpected ride down several stories underground tickled the back of his brain.  He knew it couldn't have been the girl called Kula and her crew because they were just as surprised as he was.  Someone else was a part of this mess and Terry had a figuring who it was.

Ryo caught his breath finally.  He was feeling like an old man for a minute there but he soon regained an internal balance.  His team was also feeling the effects of the last fight.  Takuma was up but soar in many places; King was half the woman she was when she walked in here; and Robert was still limping from his ankle injury.  Ryo had plenty of time to figure out where the hell they were going but instead he was more concerned with his friends than anything else right now.

*SMASH*

The metal elevator made a sudden halt that rattled everyone standing on it.  The darkness that they were submerged in began to light up revealing a very highly decorated room.  Everyone couldn't believe it when they saw it.  It was like a mansion below the earth's crust.  Besides the brick interior of the elevator entrance, everything else seemed so expensive.

"They call me…  Zero," a strong voice declared.  That name snapped into everyone's minds as if they were supposed to be afraid of it but none of the fighters knew who or what it was.

A light flashed and the holder of the voice was revealed.  He was a tall man standing easily over six foot five and his features resembled that of a man in his mid forties.  The real scary feature was his costume.  He was draped in a black cloak with sharp knives on the edges shat looked a lot like bones.  This man was definitely no second hand fighter.

"What do mean?!"  Called another voice.  "Where's Ling?!"

Terry recognized that voice in an instant.  It was the gruff and firm voice of Heidren, former fighter on the Ikari team but not since the Orochi incident.  There was something going down her and now and Terry had a feeling that it was going to get pretty noisy down here.

"Ling is no more…  I have unmatched cloning abilities.  I was easily able to slip into his guise and fool you all."

"But why?!"  Heidren replied.  There wasn't much he could do but talk with two guns pointed at his head.  "Why did you need this base?"

Zero laughed, but not hard.  "You said the purpose of the King of Fighters tournament was to bring K' and Maxima into custody.  K' and Maxima were the only links to the N.E.S.T.S. cartel that you had but I…  I had another plan…"

Everyone was silent.  Zero's words were the only ones worth listening to at the moment.

"My plan was to collect the strongest fighters in the world.  Only the strongest fighters could properly execute the second phase of my plan!"

"I get it…"  Heidren sighed, "You were that voice after Krizalid was defeated.  This is why Terry Bogard and his company are here."

"You're analysis abilities have proved quite impressive," Zero complimented.  "Terry Bogard defeated the so-called _Ultimate Fighting Weapon_ developed by N.E.S.T.S.  There was no way K' could overcome his strength even after all of this time.  Krizalid wasn't even a challenge for Terry.  He was just a simple clone of K'.  Once K' left, he would have proved a threat to N.E.S.T.S. but his simple mind cannot even begin to comprehend the power that they have faced."

"What?!"  Terry shouted.  He was confused by the entire incident and couldn't stay quite any longer.  Everything was falling apart.  These two were discussing things he's lived and fought like they were insignificant events.  Terry wouldn't let that go without a more thorough explanation.

"Hmph…"  Zero hissed, "I didn't expect you to stay quiet forever Terry Bogard."  Zero blinked once and turned his body over to the fighting teams.  He could smell foul play in the air when he sensed that there were only nine fighters instead of thirteen.  "You are the key to my entire plans," He said while pointing at Terry.  "You are going to help me shape a new world order."

"LIKE HELL!!!"  Terry shouted back while the anger flowed in his body.  He didn't like being used and especially for things he didn't want to have any part of.  But, being the defender of good like Terry is, he wouldn't let this black bozo get away with his scheme.

"So you're with N.E.S.T.S.," Heidren stated.

"N.E.S.T.S.?!"  Zero said almost being completely dumbfounded.  "The new world order is not N.E.S.T.S….  IT'S ME!"

That final hiss that came from Zero's tone sent a chill up Yuri's spine.  She didn't have to ask the guy if he was evil, she could feel it.  She wondered how Ryo felt but quickly saw that his serious stare was enough to tell her to stay quiet and let the moment pass.

"There's no way I would ever help a clown like you!"  Terry declared.

Zero laughed, harder than he ever did.  "You are tough physically but mentally, you are definitely lacking."

Terry's face cringed at that remark.  He decided to let that pass and let Zero make the first move.

"You are the strongest fighter South Town has to offer.  You have one numerous championships all over the globe including the first two King of Fighter tournaments."

_So this guy did his homework.  Big whoop.  There's more to me than my newspaper work_ Terry thought.

"But…  You are blinded by your false dreams and foolish sentimentalism."

"WHAT?!"  Terry replied.

"Your goal throughout your life was to become the strongest fighter in the world.  That is what you live for.  That is what keeps you living.  But, instead of trying to defend your ideal you hide behind this crummy slum of a town and state that you fight for the people and not yourself."

"…"  Terry had no words in defense.

"You are the most selfish fighter I have ever met Terry Bogard.  Killing you will make no difference in my life.  Your strength will be used one final time before I close the curtain on the legacy that is Fatal Fury!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"  Ryo yelled.  Fighting with fists is one thing but using your words to subdue an opponent and twist him for other purposes was just sick.  Ryo wanted to part of that and decided that his silence would finally have to end.

"Hmph…  Ryo Sakazaki.  I'm surprised you actually made it here alive."

"What…?"  Ryo coughed.  He wondered if his poison had to do with Zero's planning.

"You were indeed very strong.  That is why I allowed you to compete in the final round."

"What?!"  Ryo shouted in an angry roar.

"If it weren't for one of my agents on the opposing team.  You would have been sitting in the stands."

Ryo didn't like that remark.  Being put on the finals by default was not his idea of strength.

"But…  I must admit I underestimated you."

_Huh?  What is this guy trying to pull?!_  Ryo mentally cried.

"If there is an award for most improved I would have to say you would be the recipient.  Your strength in combat has vastly changed over your performance last year and I would have never guessed you could actually defeat the legendary Benimaru the way you did.  You are very strong and that is why I wanted you to fight Terry."

_So that's it…  That doesn't make sense!_  Ryo shouted to himself.

"Terry and his team needed one final challenge that would send them into the next level of fighting ability.  Once they defeated you and your team, they would have enough strength to complete the final phase of my plan."

Ryo's fist tightened.  He never felt so used as he heard the story of his tournament fights being tossed and burnt before his eyes.  He wasn't winning because of his strength; he was winning because someone else planned it.

"But…  It was a big shock to find that you actually came within a hair of defeating Terry Bogard."

"Huh?"  Ryo responded.

"I was lucky that Kula and her team of misfits actually stopped you from killing one another.  She had proved useful for one task."

"Kula?"  Heidren interrupted.  "Who is she?"

"She was another Ultimate Fighting Warrior developed by our scientists in a N.E.S.T.S. facility.  Instead of wreaking havoc in the fighting square, she was developed as an anti-K' device."

"Anti-K'?"  Terry responded.  "So what did she want from me?!"

"Do I look like that girl's father?  I do not control her motivations.  Just her missions.  She succeeded in defeating K' but her presence here is a bit untimely…"  Zero finished.  "No matter.  I have what I need here to complete the final phase."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"  Robert snarled.  "Phase!  Plan!  It's all a bunch of nonsense."

Zero chuckled.  "Nonsense is correct.  But it is not my nonsense that is in question.  It is the nonsense of your leader that has brought the downfall of you and your entire school of learning."

"That's absurd!"  Ryo shouted.

"Absurd?  You too have felt the voice of truth and yet you chose not to listen to it."

_Voice of truth…  Could he mean?!  That voice!!!_  Ryo thought to himself.  The initial shock of the moment paralyzed Ryo's body.  The last few moments of his fight with Terry seemed to last for hours when it wasn't even a second.

"So it was you…"  Terry responded.  Ryo looked over and saw that his former opponent had the same shocked expression he carried.

"No…  My superiors at N.E.S.T.S. are the ones who can influence the minds of humans.  I was given this information before I revealed my true self."

"So…  You're a traitor," Heidren stated.

"A traitor?!  Such a malicious definition," Zero interrupted.  "I am a visionary.  I am an example of what the world needs to be.  The fools at the head of the chain are blinded by their own ambitions to see what the world is shaping into.  They do not care for anything but themselves.  Their goals are as simple as world domination.  Mine?  My goal is simply world cleansing."

"Cleansing?!"  Heidren shouted.  "Just how do you plan to do that?!"

"Ah…  The time is nigh.  Behold!"  Zero shouted while pointing at a nearby wall.  A screen shifted down and showed a picture of the earth from an outer space satellite.  A different satellite appeared on the screen and a small picture within the frame showed a self-drawn world map.  In it, it zoomed onto South Town and a red dot was blinking on their exact location.

"Wha – What is that?"  Joe gasped as he looked onto a sight he'd never seen before.  The concept of satellites and orbiting earth was just more school mumbo jumbo Joe didn't have time for.

"This simpleton is the greatest device known to man…  The Zero Cannon!"

"Zero Cannon?!"  Ryo and Terry both shout.  Their timing was impeccable and unexpected.

"This weapon has the strength to destroy cities in a single blast…  No mortal can imagine the possibilities that I have planned," Zero spoke as the screen demonstrated exactly what he was talking about.  Everyone saw the city they were standing in turn into a black smug on the screen at it twisted their stomachs in knots just imagining the devastation.

"There's no way you'd have the energy for that thing!"  Heidren shouted.

Zero looked back in disgust, "You are very narrow minded Commander.  I have already collected the initial energy I needed to launch the Zero Cannon into orbit and preparations have been made to start the satellite."

"But… How?!"  Heidren responded.

Zero calmly chuckled.  He extended his arms and pointed that the fighters on the elevator.  "From all of them.  Their fight was more than enough to start the Zero Cannon.  They fought with all of their hearts and souls and didn't even realize the subtle step of my plan.  Those two," Zero said while pointing at Ryo and Terry, "Were exceptionally useful.  Especially the last part of the match."

Everyone seemed to slump just a little bit.  Here were South Town's greatest fighters being reduced to puppets for some old guy's evil plan.  Terry felt the burn of adrenaline surge into his body as he heard enough talking.  There was no way he was going to let Zero go forth with his plans.

"That's enough!"  Terry shouted.  "There's no way any of us are going to let this continue!"  Terry put on his fighting stance.  Andy, after regaining a clear head, followed his brother's lead and notice Joe and Mary had already done the same.

Ryo wasn't about to let Terry go at it alone.  He broke into his Kyokugen stance and waited to strike.  He saw his father standing next to him with his stance ready and Robert quickly followed.

"Robert…"  Ryo whispered.

"Yea…"  Robert whispered back.

"If anything gets too dangerous.  Take King and Yuri out of here."

Robert looked back and saw King in Yuri's arms as they stood and watched what was about to go down.  The two delicate flowers of the Art of Fighting squad were powerless to fight what was about to go down.

"Yes…  YES!"  Zero drooled at the sight.  They were falling right into his trap just as he predicted.  "Fight me!  FIGHT ME WITH ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH!"

Zero blinked once and saw the seven fighters charging right for him.  They were all going to perish by their own choice and they didn't even realize it.

*          *          *          *          *

"POWER WAVE!"

"HISHOUKEN!"

"HURRICANE UPPAAAAH!"

"KOUKOUKEN!"

"RYU GEKI KEN!"

"KOUOUKEN!"

The fighters all threw their initial strikes harder then they have ever felt before.  All of their ki energy swarmed at Zero and began to smack his large frame.  Smoke protruded there after and even though it may have looked like victory to the novice fighter, everyone knew there was a whole lot more to Zero than just talk.

A hideous laughter emanated from the center of the smoke.  "Is that all you got?!"  Zero shouted.  He didn't even feel any of the ki blasts thanks to his protective cloak.  The energy he collected from their preemptive strike was useful but he needed a whole lot more to charge the Zero Cannon.  This was only the beginning for him and everyone else.

"Why you?!"  Joe cried while rushing in.

"JOE!"  Andy shouted hoping to convince him to stop his foolish frontal assault with a single word.  He knew it would take a lot more to stop Joe but Andy was afraid that Zero had it and plenty more where it came from.

"SLASH KICK!"  Joe cried.  He flew forward with a head of steam and his foot glowing with the burning rage of his ki.

*SMACK*

"KAAAAH!!!"  Joe cried as he felt the glove covered hand of Zero smack him in the back of the head.  He rolled forward and stopped right after hitting a nearby wall.

"JOE!"  Andy hissed.   It was his turn to rush ahead but before his body could respond to his mental commands, another was already on his way to confront Zero.  Andy didn't stop moving even though there was another fighter going ahead.  He knew if they could keep Zero on his toes, one of them was bound to get a few good hits in.

"HEIN SHIPUU KYAKU!"  Robert shouted.  His feet kicked wildly into the air as he prepared each and every strike to take Zero down.  Soar ankle or not, Robert was ready to fight with all of his strength regardless of the cost.

*CRACK*

"YAAAAARRRGH!"  Yelled Robert as his fragile ankle was in Zero's deadly grip.  Before his body could flop to the ground after losing momentum, Robert was tossed back over to where Joe was and his landing wasn't as graceful.

"ZANEIKAN!"

Zero quickly caught wind of the younger Bogard's attack and stopped it just as quickly as it was started.  He threw a punch right at Andy's rib cage right at melee distance.  Andy coughed up a mean roar and was immediately silenced by another one of Zero's punches right in his jaw.

Andy skidded backwards and the hard rock floor, scraping the open parts of his body and tearing bits of off his ninja uniform.  He finally stopped after the great momentum of Zero's punch subsided.

Takuma rushed in, taking the lead of the fallen Bogard brother and hoped the other fighters would catch on to his tactics.  He succeeded in grabbing Zero in his famous _Shoran Kyaku_ technique.  What he didn't succeed in is actually connecting.

Zero launched Takuma over his head and straight into a brick wall.  Even aging over forty, Zero moved like no other man in existence.  Takuma's body smacked the wall with a sickening thud and flopped onto the ground.

"BURN KNUCKLE!"  Terry dashed forward releasing a heavy amount of ki energy into his fists.  He poured a lot of power into his flying fist attack knowing full well that it would take his best and only his best to topple Zero.  The initial burst was so enormous he began to loose sight of Zero behind the bright swarm of blue energy.

Zero caught Terry's hand and calmly realized why Terry is one of the strongest fighters around.  If it weren't for his protective glove, Zero might have actually felt some pain but nonetheless, Terry's attack had failed.  All he could do was stare up as he saw Zero's free hand form a fist and aimed straight at Terry's skull.

"MOUKO RAIJIN SETSU!"

_Huh?!_  Zero thought as he saw the other team captain fly in with a knife edge chop.  Ryo was just a little too late.  Zero had plenty of time to catch his attack and set up one of his own.  Zero threw both of his opponents useless arms downwards and heaved both of his fists into their stomachs.  Ryo and Terry let out a defiant and painful cough as they absorbed Zero's strong fist.

Zero wasn't finished yet.  He grabbed the cringing Terry and Ryo by the head and slammed them into each other like a couple of nuts on the brink of cracking.  They both cried in immediate pain after that and then Zero chucked them back in the direction they came from without turning a blind eye to their landing.

"Useless…"  Zero sighed.  "How can you have possibly made it this far without even laying a scratch on my body?!  You are all WEAK!"

"HURRICAN UPPAAAAAH!!"

"WHAT?!"  Zero shouted as a gust of wind swept him from behind.  Joe Higashi's weak wind throwing attack did nothing but brush forward Zero's heavy cape.  That did nothing more than waste Joe's energy until Zero felt a calm slash cut him across the cheek.

Zero couldn't believe it.  Joe's wind was so strong it lifted his bone draped cape high enough to touch his face and actually leave a mark.  Zero wiped the small trickle of blood from cheek before the cut would pour out anymore crimson liquid.

"How's…  That for a scratch?!"  Joe snarled while swiping at his nose with his thumb.  Zero turned around and saw the kick boxing champion had a lot more to him than that initial attack wave.  There was no way he would let Joe get away with that.

A purple shadow began to travel along the ground towards Joe.  The kick boxer raised his eyebrows at the sight.

"What the…?"  Joe gasped.  The purple shadow grasped his feet and instantly he was paralyzed.  His whole body was shocked and every single nerve froze without a single warning.  Joe was a sitting duck.

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

"NYAAAARRGGHH!!!"  Joe cried while taking four straight shots from Zero.  He got a punch in the ribs, a kick in the shins, another roundhouse kick to the jaw, and finally a back straight kick right to his jaw.  Joe was launched backwards and into the hard brick wall.  The force was enough to leave a small impression of the kick boxing champion and it sent Joe back to the ground with consciousness slipping away from his mind and body.

Zero felt pleased with that passing moment.  He let his guard down for a single second and the results were not to his liking.  Zero was slowly starting to see why these fighters actually made it this far.

"HEY!!!"  Mary cried while latching herself onto Zero's unguarded arm.  She swung her body around and positioned herself into a standing arm bar.  Mary knew she couldn't do any real damage while she was hanging in the air but she did know that with one arm occupied, it would leave Zero that much more defenseless for someone else to get a better shot.  Everyone was sacrificing themselves for the good of the next fighter; Mary didn't want to feel left out.

Takuma grabbed Zero's other arm before another breath left his body.  He didn't have the same type of style that Mary used but his strength would be more effective.  Takuma just hoped whoever was ready could move up and take their free shot with a now defenseless Zero.

Andy and Robert got up from their position just as Takuma started to hold Zero.  It didn't take another second of thought for either of them to take advantage of the situation.  Andy rushed in with Robert close behind.  Andy planned to aim high with a punch at the throat and Robert was going to go right for the bread basket.

Zero wouldn't let this insolence go on any longer.  He threw Mary right off of his arm and right into Andy.  Her skull met his and made a sick crack.  They both collapsed several feet away amazed at the strength that Zero had.

Noticing he still had another foe to deal with, Zero in turn grabbed Takuma and sent him flying into Robert.  Lucky for him, Robert saw what just happen to Andy and ducked just as his master's body flew past him.  He had an opening and he was going to take it.

"SORYA!"  Rober kicked into the air while leaping backwards.  His foot caught empty aid and he knew he was in some serious trouble.  Zero leered his hand back and swung his cloak at Robert.

*SLASH*

"YAAAAARRRGH!!!"  Robert cried.  His back was sliced open by a blade like weapon and he could hear the blood splurting out of his body.  Robert crashed right in front of Zero and even though he was injured and all, Zero wasn't about to let up just yet.  He raised his foot high and was prepared to crush Roberts skull right into the ground.

"HEIN SHIPUU KYAKU!"

Zero took two hits right at his shoulder.  The attack connected perfectly but it was as if Zero blocked it.  He felt the pain come from each kick but it wasn't anything to Zero.  It was going to take a thousand kicks like that to take him out and Ryo would never last that long.

"INSOLENCE!"  Zero yelled while swinging his attacked arm back towards his body and throwing it at Ryo in a backhand motion.

"CRACK SHOT!"

*CRACK*

"GAAAAH!!"  Zero cried.  Terry's foot landed right in his neck and it wasn't anything he could walk off.  He was caught off guard for the second time and it cost him dearly.  They were finally taking him on with their full potential just as he asked but it still pissed him off to let his guard down like that.  They would all pay for that with their bodies.

Zero swung his cloak out at Terry.  At point blank range, Terry had no room to avoid so he took the full slash right in the midsection.  He flopped backwards and stopped on his chest.  Terry checked out his gut with his free hand and thanked anyone above that the cut didn't break the skin.  It did, however, strike at his injured sternum and that would keep him down for quite some time.

Ryo was next to take a blow and it was a mighty one.  He got one right in the chest and it felt like he was launched off of a runway.  His body hit the wall hard letting dust and smoke fill his hidden presence.  The pain would subside but he had a smile buried beneath the dusty debris.  He and Terry found a way to strike at Zero and a few more hits like that would put him down for the count.  All Ryo wanted to do was get up and try again and again until his body couldn't move.

"FOOLS!"  Zero shouted.  "Do you think your puny techniques would do any damage to me?!  What a waste of time!"

_I guess I've got to go all out…_  Andy thought.  Zero was like a demon.  His punches were like speeding trains and his strength was like no other opponent he had ever faced.  Andy picked himself off the cold rock floor and stood up.  His body was still shaking after the collision with Mary and he knew his head had already taken enough damage.  He saw in the corner of his eye Mary was beginning to get up as well.  There was no time to wait for someone else to distract him, Andy would have to go at it alone.

Orange and red ki began to swarm at the heels of Andy's feet.  He was saving this strength for the finish of his last match but he didn't get a chance to use it.  It was going to be now or never for Andy.  Wind swept beneath his body and shot up, kicking his long blonde hair in various directions.  He never felt as strong as he did at this very moment.  This was going to be his greatest attack ever.

Andy jumped forward.  His hands hit the ground first and sprung his body straight into the air.  Red flames spiraled around his entire body and glowed with Andy's powerful energy.

"CHO REPPA DANNNN!!!"

Andy shot into the air like a red tornado.  His body had become a weapon and it was aimed straight at Zero.

"You're strong…"  Zero whispered.  He cocked his fist back and threw it forward with all of his strength.  "BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH!"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  Andy cried as his attack was stopped in mid air.  He pressed forward as hard as his body would allow but it wasn't enough, just as Zero said.

Zero felt a great weight under his arm.  Andy was very strong and his arm would have given up under any other circumstances but there were far more important things at stake.  His goals, his dreams, and his ambition was on the line and he wasn't about to let some punk kid from South Town take it away from him.

"K – K – KRAAAGGH!!"  Andy cried.  Zero threw the rest of his muscle at Andy and it was just enough to send him back the other way.  Andy flew into the air, his body waved around like an out of control paper airplane and finally stopped after hitting a metal gate.  Andy found himself to be laying right back on the lift where he started from.

"Sor – Sorry…  Terry…  I…"  And that was all that Andy could say before he slipped out of consciousness.

"A – Andy…"  Terry coughed.  He was still reeling from Zero's slash and had not gotten up from it as of yet.  He saw his brother try his best technique and Zero brushed it off like it was nothing at all.  Terry had to push himself a step higher before he could even think of taking out this monster.

"IS THAT YOUR BEST?!"  Zero taunted.  His frustration was a thick smog in the air.  The Zero Cannon had barely received any energy from this group.  Their skills were great but their energy was being wasted if they were taken out so easily.  It might have been better to wait a while and let the fighters rest before coming down here but there was no time for that.  N.E.S.T.S. would not be allowed to stand for another minute and Zero was ready, willing, and able to press the button when the time is right.

Zero scoffed.  The world's best fighters were on their hands and knees only after a few punches and kicks.  He was not amused and neither was his energy generator that had barely gotten a workout.  His thoughts drifted for a moment before realizing there were two other fighters that hadn't shown their presence yet.

"RAIOUKEN!"

"WHAT?!"  Zero snapped.  A blast of red energy blew up right before his body and sent a drift of wind around his stance.  As it cleared another wave of ki strikes were on their way.

"DOUBLE STRIKE!"

Zero threw his cloak up.  The blasts hit the black cloth and it vibrated in defiance but it held its integrity.  Zero looked past the attacks and saw the other two women of the fight.  Yuri Sakazaki, Ryo's little sister, wasn't scheduled to be down here but it didn't really matter to Zero.  In fact, the more bodies he had down here, the quicker the Zero Cannon would be charged.  He gladly accepted her presence and started on his own counter attack.

A purple shadow traveled from Zero's feet and grasped both Yuri and King.  Yuri felt the paralyzing hold of Zero's attack shock her body and leaving her completely open for the same kind of attack that Joe suffered that he was barely getting up from.  She knew deep in her heart she should have stayed out of this fight but Yuri would never live with herself if she didn't use some of her power to change this dismal situation.

King wanted to grasp her ribs but she was frozen.  Even trying her Double Strike made her body cringe.  She could barely move and trying that was just plain stupid but, like Yuri, she didn't want to sit around and let other people do the fighting for her.  She had strength and she was going to use it.

"So…"  Zero turned and said while looking dead in their eyes, "Courage runs in the bloodline.  BUT NOT INTELLIGENCE!"  Zero cried while teleporting forward.  He could feel their strength but one of them was already weak and she couldn't provide any more energy to the Zero Cannon.  He needed to take them out with one quick blow.

Yuri and King closed their eyes and held them tight.  It was the only movement their bodies would allow.  They couldn't even move their hands to protect the vital parts of their body.

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

*SMACK*

Yuri and King felt the paralyzed state being lifted from their bodies.  As they opened their eyes, the horror of the moment was just about to get worse.

"R – Ryo…!"  Yuri gasped.  Standing in front of both females was the Unbeatable Dragon himself.  He took all four hits and was still standing.  He took all four hits in his current condition, just this morning he was half dead and now he was the strong fighter he always was.  He took four hits for the two most important women in his life and was glad to do it.

_Amazing…_  Zero thought.  The Zero Cannon definitely got a charge out of that.  Ryo Sakazaki was a much better candidate than he initially realized.  He took the full extent of his attack and was still standing.  Zero smiled at the thought of the fight left in this man and shrugged it off and grasped Ryo by the throat.  He lifted him up a little over a foot in the air and watched as the Unbeatable Dragon was being drained of his remaining energy and air.

"G – G – Ge – Get…"  Ryo stuttered under the sheer pressure of his neck being clamped.  "O – Out…  O – Of – Of…  H – H – H – Here…"

"R – RYO!"  King screamed.  Even on the brink of death he worried about others instead of his own well being.  King wanted to do something, she had to do something.  Ryo was about to die and his last request was for their survival.  She couldn't have felt more in love with him than she did now and now, now he was going to leave her.

"DIE!"  Zero shouted.

King felt a swirl of emotions rouse inside her body.  "NOOOOO!!!!"  She cried with tears starting to run down the sides of her faces.  Her vision was blurred by the orange color of Ryo's gi and she couldn't have possibly seen the other orange colors swarming behind the black demon.

"HAOUUUUUU!!!"

"HAOUUUUUU!!!"

_WHAT?!_  Zero snarled.  He turned his head around at the exact wrong moment.

"SHOUKOUKENNNN!!!"  Both Kyokugen warriors cried.

*SMASH*

*SMASH*

"DAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  Zero cried while taking two heavy impacts on his back.  He instantly released Ryo and he fell back on the ground hard.  His feet wouldn't allow the weight of his body and his ass was firmly planted on the rock floor.  Yuri and King quickly went to his aid and they dragged his body as far away from Zero as they could.

Zero was in pain.  He was in a lot of pain.  He never expected both of the other Kyokugen warriors to recover that quickly.  Zero took the full blast of the Kyokugen school's greatest technique and he would have to admit that it was indeed powerful.  Exterminating them would definitely be a shame.

Zero turned around and saw both Robert and Takuma standing, barely standing at that.  They were both heavily exhausted.  That last attack drained both of their energies down to the very core.  Zero had them now.

Robert collapsed to his knees.  He didn't have the strength to stand let alone defend against Zero's counter attack.  The blood from his wound began to seep out more and more.  His body wasn't responding the same way it did a few moments ago.  He was running out of fuel just at the moment he needed it.  Zero charged right at him.  Taking the weaker one out first would eliminate any thoughts of him coming back for a second wind.

"Is this the extent of Kyokugen Karate?!"  Zero taunted as he dashed in for the final blow.  He wasn't going to let Robert go down with just a simple punch or kick.  He was going for his ultimate cutting technique.

*SLASH*

*SLASH*

*SLASH**SLASH**SLASH**SLASH**SLASH*

Zero stood back as his finished opponent crashed into the nearest wall.  He smiled at the demonstration of his power but the happiness turned to shock after what he saw next.

Takuma stood in for his pupil.  He was the one who took the full effects of Zero's deadly combo technique.  There were cuts all over hit body and the blood was beginning to pour.  Zero stood in awe at how he could easily misplace an attack like that and not even know who he was hitting.  No matter.  Robert was right next to him, laying flat on his face allowing unconsciousness to put him down.

Zero smiled after that.  The Zero Cannon had received a nice big gulp of energy after that last round of attacks and now three of the nine fighters were down for the count.

*          *          *          *          *

"RYO!  RYOOOO!!!"  Yuri screamed.  Her brother had not fallen out of consciousness just yet but he was still coughing pretty heavily after being choked like he was.

"I'm…  I'm alright!"  Ryo protested.  He picked himself up as quick as he could and turned to face Yuri and King.

"You two…  Stay out of the fight!  UNDERSTAND!"  Ryo ordered.  The sheer audacity of his mood change was enough to rattle the cages of both women.  They had never seen him more upset in their lives.

Yuri looked deeply into her brother's eyes.  She wondered how serious Ryo could be and then caught a glimpse of something.  His eyes were trembling.  He wasn't being serious; he was worried.  She quickly acknowledge his request and was ready to fulfill it.

"Get Robert and father, put them on the elevator and get the hell out of here!"  Ryo stated.  King immediately looked up at that demand.  Ryo wanted her to leave.  He wanted her out of the picture.  She knew exactly why but she didn't want to except it.  Ryo picked her up and looked King dead in her beautiful blue eyes.

"I'll see you again…  I promise."

King nodded.  She didn't have any words that would come close to following that.  Yuri quickly grabbed King and they moved.  King gave Ryo one last glance and then took off towards the elevator.  Ryo waited until Yuri got King safely on the lift and then proceed to distract Zero the only way he could.  Fortunately for him, another hot head had already taken his job.

"HEY YOU!!"  Joe cried.  He slowly started to walk over to Robert's fallen position while keeping his fighting stance up.  "It'll take a lot more than your weak hits to put down Joe Higashi!"

"Weak…" Zero hissed.  Before he could come up with a comeback Joe had already moved in.  The kick boxing champion threw a blaze of punches using his famous Explosion Punch and for the first time, Zero had to put up a real defense.

Joe's knuckles smashed into Zero's buff forearms.  He knew he wasn't really doing much damage but the whole point of the matter wasn't to hurt him physically but to push him back.  Joe was pretty sure this guy didn't have tolerance for the weak but he wasn't about to let this clown harm two out of commission fighters.

Zero couldn't believe it.  This foolish Japanese kick boxer was actually pushing him back.  Step by step, Zero moved back.  Joe was not letting up; he was like a wild beast moving in until his prey gave up.  If this kept up, Joe would be an irritating bug to swat away.

Joe saw in the faintest part of his vision that the fallen fighters Robert and Takuma were being taken care of.  He could let up just a little bit but then again, this guy may have had surprises that Joe hasn't seen yet.  This was the only time Joe would prove he had intelligence.  It wasn't in his book smarts but his street smarts.  Joe was going to go for one last hit to put Zero away and it would take all of his remaining energy.

"Guys like you make me sick…"  Joe taunted with his fists still blazing strong.

"WHAT?!  How dare you…?!"  Zero shot back.

"Easy…  LIKE THIS!!!"  Joe shouted while pulling his fist back.  The wind began to scream at his command.  Never before had he charged his attack to be this powerful.  It was as if something beyond his body possessed him for that moment and felt for Joe's emotions about honor and victory.  Wind blasted from the core of his arm and spun throughout his body like never before.  "SCREWWWW!!!"

_This same technique…?  Not good ENOUGH!_

"UPPAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

*WHOOSH*

Zero was consumed by the self made tornado.  His body took hits in places he needed three mirrors to see.  Joe was stronger than he ever could have imagined.

"I…  I think I got him…"  Joe sighed as he collapsed.  That technique took all of his remaining energy.  Joe's last thoughts were that of the spotlight he could have been in if only this part of the fight was broadcasted on Pay Per View.

_Ah…  The attention…_

Zero brushed off the remaining portion of Joe's tornado as if it wasn't even there.  Looking down at his feet, Joe was knocked out and he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  He picked up Joe by the top of his head and held him there.  Joe was dangling like a wet fish that had stayed out of the water for a few seconds too long.  Zero was going to enjoy killing this man.  He wound his fist up and threw it at Joe's throat.

"POWERRRR!!!"

_Terry…_  Zero thought.  _His Power Wave technique?  So he's trying to save his friend eh?_  Zero looked over ready to slap Terry's wave of ki right back at him.  He saw no such thing.

"WHAT?!"

"DUNKKKK!!!"

*SMACK*

"KAAAAAAHHHH!!!"  Zero shrieked while taking Terry's ki filled fist right in his jaw.  Time began to move slow as he saw the various colors of the world flash around his eyes and for the first time in a long time he felt pain, genuine pain, touch his flesh skin.  Zero moved back several feet and he was still reeling.  He wasn't going to be like that for long so Terry knew to take the opportunity of the situation.

"MARY!"  He yelled.  Terry picked Joe up and placed him on Mary's shoulders as soon as she got there.  "Take Joe to the elevator and get him out of here!"

"But Terry!"

"Do as I say!  We don't have time to argue!"

Mary nodded and moved ahead.  Joe was heavy but not beyond her weight allowance.  She had a feeling Terry knew what he was doing and instead of battling him with it, she just went along and hoped everything would turn out alright.

Terry turned his vision for just one second and paid the price for it.  He took one of Zero's own punches right in his jaw and Terry crashed onto the ground.  Zero wasn't about to let Terry stew in the sting of the first hit.  He wasn't about to be that nice to someone who was trying to corrupt his master plan.

Terry rolled backwards.  Zero couldn't believe it.  He threw one of his strongest punches at him and Terry took it like it was just any old punch from any old fighter.  Slowly, he began to understand now.  He understood what was making Terry tick and how he could stay on his feet no matter what kind of punishment is dealt to him.

Terry stayed on his knees.  He needed Zero to keep his focus on him for one second longer to allow the others who could fight a chance to blind sight him.

"Terry…"  Zero roared in a calm sinister tone.  He was infused with the will of his kneeling opponent.  Terry Bogard was the only one who could properly fuel his Zero Cannon.  It was his will to become the strongest fighter alive that would give Zero enough energy for ten shots on the Zero Cannon.  He wanted to fight him mano-a-mano and he was going to kill anyone who got in his way.

"HAOU!"

_Do it…!_  Terry screamed to himself while laying flat on his back.

_What the?_  Zero thought to himself.  He was caught completely off guard until he saw the impossible…  Possible.

"SHOUKOUKEN!"

*SMASH*

"YAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!" Zero cried while taking the full blast right in the chest.  The impact drove him several meters backwards and into the farthest brick wall.  The underground base shook with such defiance that the single chandelier that provided a bit of elegance to the fighting arena crashed on the ground.

"Terry!"  Ryo called out.  "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he replied.  "Get ready.  He's not done yet."

Ryo nodded.  "I know.  Even though it was a clear shot.  I didn't want to waste all of my energy on one attack."

Terry chuckled.  "If only Joe had you brain.  Go on, I'll be right back."

"But!"  Ryo called out as he saw Terry run after the elevator.  "Where are you going?!"

"Making sure we have a fair fight!"

_Fair fight?  What does he have in mind?_  Ryo thought.  He blew off any assumptions he had and waited to confirm it with Terry.

Terry ran up to the elevator.  All of the fighters looked like they've had better days.  Mary just got finished placing Joe in a comfortable position and she quickly ran towards Terry.

"TER – RY!!!"  She cried.  In the midst of her call, the entire underground base began to shake.  The rumble was not that of an earthquake although it really resembled one.  Terry could feel Zero's energy rising and rushing through the entire fighting square but he didn't have time to waste worrying about him now.  Debris was about to fall and there was only one thing he had on his mind.

Terry pressed the lift button on the elevator.  The large metal plate rose from its resting place and ascended towards the light.

"TER – TERRY!"  She called to him.  He was slowly leaving her life again and that was the last thing she wanted to experience.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Stay back…"  He calmly stated.  "And when you reach the surface, get as far away from here as you possibly can!"

"What…?!  NO WAY!"  She wailed.  Mary fell on her stomach to the flattest part of the lift and extended her arm to him.  She was inches away from touching his face but he didn't reach back.  "LET ME STAY WITH YOU!"

Terry smiled.  It was the last part of his face she would ever see. He tipped his cap down and turned around.  "Be strong Mary…  Be strong and live on."

"NOT WITHOUT YOU!"  She replied.

Terry's smile grew bigger.  "We'll meet again…"  He said as he quickly took his cap off and tossed it backwards in his winning pose fashion "… Someday."  Without yelling "OKAY" it looked rather sad in Mary's eyes.  His cap landed right by her head.  She was quickly getting out of his view and she desperately yelled back at Terry.

"DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN!"  She cried.  Tears were streaming down her face and sliding right through the grated elevator floor.  Terry heard each one as they hit the ground and could feel the emotions that were attached.  There was nothing he could do about it now.

Mary clenched Terry's cap across her chest and began to cry harder than she ever had before.  All she could do was erratically chant his name over and over again.  It was almost driving her mad but what was she to do?  Her emotions drove her to be this way and this is something she was going to have to deal with.  Without Terry, life was going to be hard.

Terry heard in the distance the snapping sound of the elevator as it reached the top floor.  He smashed the control box with a quick punch making sure no one up there would try and use it to get back down and try to play hero.  That was Terry's job.  He quickly ran back to where Ryo had been standing and watched as the furious Zero began to collect energy and show it off by causing the mini earthquakes inside the underground base.

"Are you sure you made the right move?!"  Ryo yelled.  He had to over the sound of all of the flying debris crashing into the various walls.

"Wouldn't you have done the same?"  Terry answered.  Ryo gave Terry a half smile and instantly realized all of his intentions and was grateful he was the one to make that decision.  Ryo might have had a harder time dealing with his sister and King in that situation.

"Where…"  Terry said while observing the chaotic scene.  "Did everyone go?"

Ryo caught a glimpse of what Terry was talking about and formed his own conclusion.  "They must have left when the fight started.  Probably hiding in one of the secret storage rooms or what not."

Terry faintly chuckled.  "Well I guess it's up to you and me then…"

Ryo replied with a smile.  "I wouldn't have picked anyone else."

They both got into their fighting stances and waited for Zero.  Nothing mattered to them right now.  They focused their minds into their fighting mode and the outside world was blacked out.  They were living in the moment and that always brought out the best in a fighter.

"Now Kula!"  Called a voice.

"What the?!"  Ryo said while turning his attention elsewhere.

"I cannot allow you to finish this match Terry Bogard!"  Yelled a girl as she skated forward from behind a crevasse in the wall.  She speeded towards Terry with a familiar knife shaped object in her hands and in seconds, would have finally completed her mission.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"  Shouted a voice in the distance.  Ryo knew of only one place that voice could have come from and prepared himself for the worst.

*SMASH*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author Notes:  WOAH!  What a chapter.  Boy the action was just ruling wasn't it?  I know, I know.  Another suspenseful ending.  But, you have to admit, you're loving it aren't you.  Ahhh…  Don't be like that.  Alright guys I've been having a blast righting this but all good things must come to an end.  The thrilling conclusion of my tale is coming up in the next chapter so don't miss out.  That's for your reviews guys.  Motivation helps me punch out quality and quantity work. I would like to especially thank SilentNinja20 for he gave me the inspiration and idea for the first part of the fic that was the dream sequence for Terry and Ryo.  Take it easy guys and all see you one last time in Chapter 12!)


	13. Chapter 12: The Ultimate End

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 12:  The Ultimate End**

Terry watched his time slowly flash in front of him.  Frame by frame, the one known as Kula charged at him, knife in hand, and aimed right at his heart.  She was going for the kill and Terry was paralyzed in shock to do anything but stand there.  He was facing death right in the eye and didn't even have a chance to fight for his life.  A fighter shouldn't go down like this; it was dishonorable and shameful but there was nothing his body would allow him to do about it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

*SMASH*

_WHAT?!_  Terry shouted as a black blur raced through his vision.  He was caught completely off guard and watched as the moment shifted into real time and all of the questions he had were finally answered.

"YOU!"  Shouted the man standing in front of Terry.  He was draped completely in a black costume, complete with sunglasses and shimmering grey hair.  His hand was covered with a familiar red glove that was firmly clasping Kula's armed hand.  The young girl cringed after her arm was captured and a gasp of fear left her lips after she identified who had stopped her attack.

_K'?!_  Terry thought.

"I told you not to interfere!"  K' shouted.  The flames in his eyes roared with a new passion and an enlightened anger.  "NOW YOU'RE MINE!"  He shouted while throwing a fist into Kula's stomach.  She coughed in defiance and rolled backwards to where her supporting team members were.

K' dashed ahead.  He saw the blue suited female take Kula off to the other side of the base and he gave a full chase.  Terry finally caught wind of the situation after a few passing moments as he looked K' over.  He looked as if he went through hell and back.  His black costume had spots of blood all over it including several tears and his face was scuffed with scratches and bruises.  He looked almost like he'd been fighting for an eternity.

"What was that all about Terry?"  Ryo asked.  The winds of the underground base grew stronger as it made standing still a bothersome chore.

"It's a long story…"  Terry replied trying to yell over the sound of the wind.  Zero was summoning a large amount of energy and it felt very dangerous if he was able to radiate as much power as he was at the moment.  Ryo and Terry kept their stances strong as Zero screamed in the distance.  His load roar gave the underground base one last shake and then, there was silence.

Terry would have felt a chill run up his spine but at the moment the adrenaline in his system kept him as warm as he needed to be.  If Zero was only using half of his strength then, there's no telling what he could do now.  He looked over at Ryo and saw a serious vibe coming from his direction.  Ryo was cold and calm but Terry could feel the fire building within his body.  He felt something emanating from the Kyokugen warrior that he never felt before.  Ryo was like a whole new person underneath and it was only a matter of time before he bloomed.

Zero approached the fighters slowly.  He was angered to the point of detonation.  He'd been bested by nine of the weakest fighters he had ever faced in his life and now, with the Zero Cannon charged to only half of its power, there are only two of them left.  Sure it was the strongest two he could have picked but two was still two.  It didn't fit as well as nine did.  Zero knew it was going to take some serious strength to get enough power for his Zero Cannon and after summoning all of that power, he was going to get it one way or the other.

Zero dashed forward.  His strength was shown instantly after that first leap because it seamed like he was soaring on the ground instead of running.  Wind was brushed aside as his body traveled at an incredible speed.  He readied a punch and aimed at his first target.

Terry saw Zero's fist coming right at his head and he quickly evaded it.  Zero threw more strikes at Terry that didn't meet the same fate.  Terry blocked three more quick punches and a steady kick and instantly Terry was on the floor.  Zero's power was incredible and even after blocking a first wave of attacks.

Ryo saw Terry go down and before he could blink, he was next in line.  Zero moved in with an uppercut that barely missed Ryo's jaw.  A few more attacks and Ryo ended up mimicking Terry.  Zero briefly stopped his quick attack wave and looked down at the two floored fighters.

"Hmph!"  Zero scoffed with a decisive grunt.  "Pathetic…"  Zero leaned his arm down and grabbed Ryo by the gi.  His strength was easily able to carry the Kyokugen warrior and he held him there while letting gravity dangle his suspended body.

"You have no idea what I'm fighting for…!"  Zero stated.  "You are just pawns in the mask of life.  You fight and fight and fight until your bodies collapse but it is useless in the end.  Death is the only thing that awa – ARRRGGGHHH!!"  Zero cried feeling a sharp pain in his rib cage.  He immediately released Ryo and checked on the source of his pain.  Terry Bogard's red shoe landed square in his side and he didn't even see the attack coming.

Zero threw his arm backwards and caught the butt of Terry's chin.  Terry rolled backwards after feeling the impact wondering how many more blows he could take like that.  Zero turned his attention to the fallen Bogard with thoughts of vengeance after that surprise attack.  His focus was instantly deterred by the strange wind that brushed against his back and he turned around to face the distraction.

"ZAN RETSU KEN!"

*SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK*

"KRAAAAAAGH!!!"  Zero screeched after taking in the full extent of Ryo's combo assault.  Eleven straight hits on his body and an uppercut to finish it off.  Zero's chin was almost fully stretched after the final blow but it wasn't enough to knock him down.

*CRACK*

"KAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"  Ryo cried after receiving an uppercut to his sternum.  Zero followed with a haymaker right to his temple and Ryo went flying backwards.

_FOOLS!!!_  Zero shouted in his mind.  He had allowed himself to be distracted by their flaws and ended up being the recipient of a mediocre assault.  The attack hardly dented Zero's new status but the fact that they were able to get that close in a matter of seconds almost scared Zero.  He had never faced competitors who were willing to risk their own lives for the sake of others.  The way Zero saw it; it was every man for himself.  Allies are people you use in order to get what you want and when they were of no use, they would be discarded or destroyed.

"CRACK SHOT!"

_What?!_  Zero thought as he swayed back.  That was the flaw of these so called _King of Fighters_.  They always screamed their attacks right before they would hit.  It was almost like a phone call to the opponent telling them what's coming.

Terry landed inches within striking Zero but he wasn't done yet.  He began to throw a mass of punches and kicks that would deter Zero from any offense.  As long as Zero was using his arms and legs for blocking, he couldn't use them for striking.

Zero swayed through the first few attacks and immediately found an opening in Terry's assault.  He had spread himself too thin and after memorizing the attack pattern after the forth or fifth punch, Zero moved in to break his offense.

*SMACK*

Terry took a hit right in the dead center of his chest and he was sent backwards.  He gasped in response but it was only heard by the empty air.  The pain had taken over all of his attention and not even his landing concerned him at that time.  The wound he received from K' was proving to be a heavy disadvantage in this fight.

Zero looked over at the fallen Bogard and frowned in anger.  This man thought too much of himself to even compete with someone like Zero so why does he even bother trying as hard as he does.  It didn't make sense to Zero.  Humans had such strange thoughts and beliefs.  Eliminating them seemed to be more of healthy choice than a foolish dream.  People like Terry Bogard and Ryo Sakazaki are proof that the human existence is driven to pain and failure.

Zero leaped into the air with a substantial amount of dust and debris kicking away upon his departure.  He preformed a front flip in the air and was heading straight for Terry's skull.  He was going to crush him with one final blow.

"HIEN SHIPUU KYAKU!"

*CRACK*

"DAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"  Zero screamed.  His spine took the whole force of Ryo's kick and more and there he was, only feet away from sending Terry to another world.  Zero landed a few feet away from Terry's body and hunched after the effects of the kick but his real frustration lead into his own fault of strategy.

He was being used by the two fighters.  Terry Bogard, as strong as he was, wasn't foolish enough to try and fight with Zero one on one.  So instead of battling with Zero, he distracted him and allowed Ryo to take all the free shots he could get.  Zero was completely playing into the hands of two human beings.  Humans with flaws of unimaginable proportions.  Humans who hated and fought and would kill one another.  Humans who had nearly defeated Zero himself.  The experience showed in both Terry and Ryo.  Their energy would be put to great use.

"Terry!"  Ryo called out.  His fallen companion picked himself up not looking like the fighting champion he used to be.  Terry dusted himself off and shook his head.  He knew he wasn't one hundred percent.  He was barely fifty but he had to keep pushing himself forward.  Nothing was going to stop him from winning this fight.

"I'm… Alright," Terry declared.  The words came out rather erratically but Ryo could understand them all.

The reunion of stature was short lived.  Their eyes blinked once and instantaneously the felt a great pain grasp on their throats.  They were lifted from the ground as the world around them started to turn black.

"You think you can beat me…"  Hissed Zero.  His tone had the scorn of a man who was seeking revenge.  "YOU…  ARE…  NOTHING!!!"  Zero shouted.  His first target was Terry as he through the Lone Wolf onto the ground head first.  Terry's head bounced off the rock floor without forgetting to make a sickening thud.  He didn't move after that.

Zero's eyes locked on Ryo's.  The Unbeatable Dragon was cringing as his eyes were shut but he could feel the anger pouring from Zero's body.  Zero moved forward and was ready to slam Ryo's body straight through the underground base wall and make sure to leave his impression.  As he took a step forward, he noticed his other foot wouldn't follow.

_WHAT?!_  Zero shouted to himself.  He looked over to see what would have caused his slow down and saw that some people never gave up.  Terry's arms were locked around Zero's foot and he held on as if his life depended on it.

"R – RYO!"  Terry screamed.  That was all the indication he needed to realize Terry had given him another golden opportunity.  Ryo slammed one of his free hands into Zero's beefy forearm.  He knew about all of the pressure points in the arm and made sure to slam the one that would cause a shock to Zero's nerves.

It worked.  Zero released Ryo after the impact and he saw that his claw covered hands were quivering.  There was no time to waste on examining the initial strike and Ryo followed up with one of his greatest attacks.

"KOHOU!"

Zero looked down at Ryo just as he was rising up.  His fist covered most of his vision of the Kyokugen warrior but the interesting thing was located right on top of his physical weapon.  His fist almost seemed to form the shape of fangs, the kind found only on mythological creatures.  After that, there were only stars in his vision.

Ryo spun up after smacking Zero's jaw and he watched as the black behemoth crashed onto the ground.  It had been the first time he had actually fallen in the fight and he knew it would only be a matter of moments before he got up again with a new found anger.

Terry picked himself up.  Slowly at first and it looked like it would be that way the entire trip.  His body jittered at every moving moment.  Terry had taken the better part of the beating this round.

Zero got up and he was furious.  He was knocked down.  _Him!_  The person who would become the god of the new world and he was taken down by a mere mortal.  They would both pay for their rebelliousness.  Zero felt a surge of energy rush though his system as he got up and headed straight for both fighters.

Ryo looked over at felt sorry for Terry.  He had sacrificed so much so that they both had a chance at fighting Zero.  If he took another blow like he did it would certainly be put out of the fight or even worse.

"Terry…"  Ryo said.  He moved his arm up to block Terry from moving another step forward.  "I'll take care of him now.  You just worry about – "

"MOVE!"  Terry shouted while grabbing Ryo by the gi.  He threw him aside and Ryo tumbled over and smacked the rock floor.  He had no idea why Terry just did that but soon enough he realized exactly what was going on.

*SLASH*

*SLASH*

*SLASH**SLASH**SLASH**SLASH**SLASH*

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!"  Terry cried.  The last thing he saw was the quick movement of a black blur and then the sight of his blood flying around in the empty air.  The world almost stopped after that as Terry smacked the ground, not even feeling gravity's effect on his body.

Ryo saw the passing moment slow down frame by frame.  He didn't want it to happen, he asked him not to do anything, and he tried to stop him.  He was too late.  Zero was still in the air after back flipping his cape and all and was coming down to the ground.  Ryo would make sure it he wouldn't have a warm reception.

Ryo snapped up to his feet and bolted towards Zero's direction.  He felt a swell of energy lift from his body and flow toward his hand.  His muscles tightened as he threw his fist forward just as Zero's feet hit the ground.

"ICHIGEKI HISSATSU!!!"

*SMACK*

"KIYAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"  Zero shouted while flying backwards.  His body spun with a new intensity and soon enough he reintroduced himself with the wall that he was shot into previously with one of Ryo's other attacks.  Zero slummed to the ground with his chest throbbing.  His mind was not focused on anything else but the pain.

"TERRY!"  Ryo shouted while running towards him.  There was blood everywhere.  He barely moved and when he did, more blood would escape his body.  "Don't move!"  Ryo quickly ordered.

Terry didn't like being ordered so naturally he didn't respond.  He picked his body up from the ground and rested on his knees.  His chest was cut open in two different places and there were several more cuts on his arms and legs.  Terry remembered the time he'd taken a beating like this but unfortunately for him, Mary wasn't around to save his hide again.

"Just…  Let me…  Catch my breath…"  Terry asked while taking in a few short bursts of oxygen.  He dropped his heavy jacket from his arms and took his now blood stained shirt off.  With what remaining strength he had left, he tore the stainless pieces off his shirt and tied it around his body.  After one tight squeeze, followed by a cringe, Terry felt good about his situation.

"Helluva…  Punch," Terry coughed.

Ryo smiled in response to that.  "Wasn't much on that though…"

Terry raised his eyebrow.

"The punch is more effective if you're standing still.  I only had a clear shot if I ran up to him."

Terry started to laugh.  Slow at first but it gradually came to a hearty chuckle.  "That's two…  How many…  Of those…  Do you got left?"

Ryo's smile shortly went into a look of no emotion.  He didn't know if Terry was joking or serious.  Zero may or may not get up after that last hit and if he did, there wouldn't be much Ryo could do without Terry's help.

_Shit!_  Ryo cursed to himself.  He'd been relying on Terry the entire time during the fight and now without him, Ryo didn't have a clue on how to beat him.  So much for his experience.  How does it help him now?

The ground began to shake.

_HUH?!_  Ryo yelled.  He looked over to where Zero was laying and saw that the monster was not down any longer.  Zero used his fists as propulsion to get up but left two nice looking craters where his hands had struck.  He didn't move after that.  Something told Ryo that the monster who had mocked the human race was now paralyzed with rage.

Ryo stepped forward from where Terry was sitting; several steps in fact.  He didn't want a repeat of what happened last time.

Zero kept his body still.  He was still reeling after the effects of the punch.  He would have cursed Ryo's name and sought for vengeance but the thought of the energy absorbed by his suit to the Zero cannon and a smile almost formed on his lips.  Zero knew he would need time to recover.  He thanked himself that he had a trump card right up his sleeve just in case this situation brought itself forward.

*SNAP*

Zero snapped his fingers and the echo carried all the way through the underground base.  From the hidden corridor, next to Zero's stale body, a door opened.  Ryo raised both of his blonde eyebrows after watching the people who stepped in right next to Zero.

One was a very petite, sexy looking red haired woman.  She was short but the large muscles on her biceps and forearms told another story.  The only weird thing about her was that she was wearing a regular dress shirt and a tie.  Very peculiar for a fighter.  Then Ryo noticed, standing right next to her, the reason why it seemed so weird.  No, so similar.

Ryo instantly identified the man to be Seth, an opponent he faced during the second round of the tournament.  Why he was here was a definite shock to Ryo but the more he thought about it, the more things started to make sense.

Ryo remembered Seth's face after the fight had ended.  Seth didn't even bother to come into the fight as a striker.  He just stood there and watched his last fighter get decimated by Ryo's Haou Shoukouken.  Something didn't sit right with Ryo after that fight but now it was becoming clear.  All of Zero's words that were spoken before today's fight even began were starting to become true.  Seth allowed Ryo and his team to win the fight.  They were allowed to advance forward because Seth was ordered to, most likely from Zero.  Ryo and his teammates played into Zero's hands like pudding and it only started a new flame of hatred to grow.

Light began to swarm around Ryo.  Not just any light, the energy he radiated from his body grew out, taking a physical form and shined on the Kyokugen warrior.  A new feeling caressed Ryo's body.  He didn't want to fight just to beat anyone.  He wanted to fight to defend everyone.  All of his friends, family, and especially his cherished loved one would all depend on him before, now, and even later.  He wasn't about to allow anyone, ANYONE, to mess with the life he tried so hard to build.  A life he nearly lost only hours ago.

*          *          *          *          *

"Ryo…  Don't!"  Yuri pleaded.  Ryo was being more stubborn than he ever was.

"It's…  It's ok Yuri…  I'll be…  I'll be…"

"You'll be dead if you don't lay down!"  She cried.  Tears swelled her vision as the sight of her brother's pain and the thought of his intended plan were just too much for her emotions to handle.

Ryo laid back keeping his eyes wide open.  "Do you…  Do you remember…?  What father said?"

"What?"  Yuri replied.  She had barely heard Ryo but finally her brain was putting the pieces together on his question and she formulated the best answer she could think of.  "Oh…  What words are you talking about Ryo?"

"He said…  He said he was going…  He was going to forfeit."

"Oh…  That.  Yea, there's nothing we can do about that now."

"No!"  Ryo shouted.  The sudden burst of energy coming from his system was a shock to Yuri as she tried to calm herself down and get a grasp on the situation.

"I…  I won't let father…  I won't let him quit because of me!"  Ryo shouted.  He picked himself up from the futon he was resting in and began to limp his body towards the door.  Yuri wanted to stop him but she was afraid if she even touched him, he would hit to floor and end up a lot worse than he already was.

Ryo made it to the staircase.  His gi was probably upstairs and he wasn't about to let a simple flight of stairs get in his way.  Yuri ran after Ryo hoping to help him in any way possible, that is, before a green flash in the backyard caught her eye.

"What the?"  She thought while directing her vision towards the garden outside.  Standing there was a man wearing a very unusual looking costume.  It was black leather straps with a bit of yellow on the belt and shoes.  Yuri gasped as she realized that man that put Ryo in the condition he was in was standing on their property.

Lin opened the glass sliding door of the Sakazaki house and let himself in.  Yuri backed away but then the thought of Ryo unguarded flashed in her mind and she immediately stood in front of him with her arms extended.

"GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER YOU MONSTER!"  She cried.  Lin did not answer.  He proceeded forward but in a peculiar manner.  He raised his hands as if he were giving himself up and slowly approached Yuri.

"I do not mean you any harm," Lin stated under his mask.  That gesture put Yuri at ease just a little bit and she put her guard down temporarily.

"W – Wh – What do you want?!"  Yuri replied trying to intimidate her unexpected visitor.  It didn't work but it was worth the effort.

"I wanted to see how your brother was doing…  That is all."

"That's all?"  Yuri asked.  Lin couldn't hide any expression on his face since he really had none.

"No."

"NO?!"  Yuri snapped.  "You said that was all!  GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"  She ordered while putting up her Kyokugen stance.  Strong or not, with rage on her side, Yuri was determined to come out the victor.

Lin had no intention of fighting.  Now or later.  He put his arms up again only this time taking out a small vial from his pocket and holding it in the air.  Yuri noticed the green vial as it contrasted to his red hand and her curiosity arose.

"What…  What is that?"

"If you will allow me…  I would like to pay you back for all of the trouble I may have caused you."

Yuri had no idea what he was talking about but if this guy was the one who put Ryo in his condition, he might be the only one to bring him back to his normal self.  Lin placed the vial he carried on a nearby table.  Yuri was busy getting Ryo back to his resting place which wasn't that hard.  He pretty much passed out while standing for so long.  After watching him rest at ease, Yuri walked over to see what Lin was up to.

Lin was hard at work.  He opened up the green vial and it immediately a vile smell entered the room.  Yuri thought thirty years of dead rats were stinking up the joint.  Something very important was sitting in that tiny bottle, maybe the only thing that would save Ryo but it wasn't winning any awards for scent.

"Why…  Why are you doing this?"  Yuri asked as Lin began to work.  He poured the contents of the vial into a small dish.  It was green just like the color of the vial.

"I was looking for someone.  Another man going by the name of Seth knew of his whereabouts.  The only way I would get that information is if I competed in the King of Fighters tournament."

Yuri listened with her ears burning.  This was like one of those stories from the Chinese ninja books she loved to read.

"So…  What happens now?  Were you supposed to win the tournament?"

Lin continued to mix the green solution with another liquid he had brought.  "All I was told that I would find the information I was looking for if I competed in the tournament."

Yuri sighed after realizing the truth of the situation.  "I'm…  I'm sorry."

"Hmph?"  Lin asked not really paying attention to what was going on.  He could have sworn this young child was feeling sorry for him.

"If Ryo had lost…  You would have found that person you were looking for."

Lin turned his attention towards Yuri.  He brutalized her brother, nearly killed him, and she was taking pity on his situation.  No matter what kind of monster he was or still is, that didn't matter to her.  This was the epitome of human beings.  Lin felt a soft spot growing in his heart for this woman.

"Do not concern yourself with my situation…"  Lin asked while doing one final stir of the newly created solution.  "There is only one thing I have to do now."

Lin walked over to Ryo, dish in hand and placed it by his lips.  He looked over at Yuri almost mentally ordering her to come lift his head up.  Lin would have done it himself but he knew it would be a lot better on her conscience if he touched Ryo as little as possible.

The solution began to pour into Ryo's mouth and as if he were actually awake and functioning, he swallowed whole in a single gulp.  He lay there still for another few minutes looking more serene every passing moment.

"He will be at full strength in another few minutes," Lin responded.  He began to walk out the door from where he entered before hearing the cry of the other person in the room.

"Wait!"  Yuri cried.  She ran up to him and blocked his exit to the backyard.  "Thank you," she said while bowing.  Lin couldn't believe it.  First the compassion, now the gratitude.  He had never experienced such kindness like this in his entire life.  Lin cracked a half smile under his mask.

"A strong man is needed in the hours to come.  Ryo is the only one left who can stand up to the evil that awaits you."

"Evil?  What are you talking about?!"  Yuri pleaded.  She blinked her eyes once and the man standing before her had disappeared as if he were never there.  Yuri felt a little sad after his departure but her sad emotions were quickly subsided by the sight before her.  Ryo was standing and moving like he was reborn.  She ran over to him and give him a great big hug.  Things were starting to look up for the Sakazakis.

*          *          *          *          *

The light swarming around Ryo began to take a new shape.  It started forming patterns and it ducked and dived around all of Ryo's curves.  There was a bulbously part of the light that seemed to form a head like design and soon, the pattern was mapped out to the other spectators.  Ryo, the unbeatable dragon, was now showing off the power of his name.

Zero felt the strength glowing from Ryo.  It didn't matter though.  There was no way a single person could take him out at Ryo's current fighting level.  Plus, he had to go through two more fighters.  Ryo was finished and the fight with Seth and Vanessa should fill enough power for the Zero Cannon to be fully charged.  The plan was falling into place.

Zero threw his hands forward waving at his slaves to go at the sole standing warrior.  Glowing or not, he would be put down soon enough.

*SNAP*

*SNAP*

"WHAT THE?!"  Zero snarled.  His arms were tangled by the two people he set out to fight Ryo.  "WHAT IS THIS INSOLENCE?!?!?!"

"We're not your pawns anymore Zero!"  Seth shouted.

"Yea!"  Vanessa replied.  "We've given up on your plan!!!"

Ryo's eyebrows shot up.  Seth and Vanessa had opened a window for him.  He was standing there with his body completely vulnerable to attack.  There was no mercy that was going to be shown on this man.  It was time for the Kyokugen Karate Secret Technique.

The light glowing around him flustered around his body.  He focused it at a single point and went ahead.  It was now or never.

"KYOUKUGEN – RYUU OUGI!!!!!!!"

Zero winced once.  It was the only time he actually felt the shadow of fear creep up on him like that.  There was no running now.  He was going for a ride.

*SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK**SMACK*

"ORA – ORA – ORA – ORA – ORAHHHHH!!!"  Ryo cried while striking.  His movements were uncanny with anyone Zero had ever faced before.  Ryo was like a machine.  Punch after punch, kick after kick.  Zero was being toyed with.  He didn't even have the strength to set up a defense let alone take the punishment.  Zero was on the brink of defeat.

"MORATTAAAAAA!!!!"  Screamed Ryo while thrusting his fist upward onto Zero's unprotected chin.  Ryo spun into the air as he lifted off of the ground and Zero went along with him.  He felt the fire within him grow as his body struck Zero inch after inch.  Ryo's attack was stronger than he ever felt before; stronger than he ever imagined.

Zero flew high into the air almost as if he were to shoot straight up into the surface.  Moments later, his body crashed onto the ground with a hard thud.  His figure was imprinted on the hard rock floor.

Ryo breathed heavily.  His last attack took pretty much everything he had and he was exhausted.  Even standing up became a stamina testing chore.  No.  There were other things he had to focus his attention on.  Ryo turned around very slowly so that he could save what remaining strength he had left.

Seth and Vanessa were a few meters away.  Ryo traveled a great distance in his Kyokugen onslaught.  They were just standing there, not moving an inch, taking only small breaths.  Ryo had no idea what they had in mind but he did owe them something for their help.  Either way, he tightened his fist.  Even after their last act, he had no idea what their true intentions were.

*CRASH*

_WHAT?!!_  Ryo thought to himself as the once standing wall next to him exploded into nothing but bits of rock and cement.  Dust kicked into the air preventing vision from the scene but Ryo definitely heard a thud at his feet after the initial explosion.  Ryo looked over to the source of the detonation and saw something he thought he would never see again.

Standing in the midst of the destruction was K' battered and all.  His body was torn to veritable shreds, cuts and gashes were found on almost every curve, and his right hand was still set ablaze.  He took a step forward, Ryo could easily tell he was finished.  Every movement was followed by a cringe or a jitter.  K' could barely walk let alone throw another punch.

Ryo didn't know what to do, that is, until the dust beneath him began to clear.  Laid out at his feet, the girl in the purple jumpsuit known as Kula was knocked out.  Her hair looked different.  It wasn't the cool ice color it once was but it was more like a strawberry blonde.

Ryo was puzzled.  He had no idea what to do.  There was the mess next to him and the mess in front of him.  K' continued to proceed forward as sloppy as he looked.  He extended his flame lit had at his enemy chanting something under his scattered breath.  Ryo couldn't make it out but as K' took another step, he tripped over a piece of fallen debris and was heading straight for the ground.

The weight of K' fell over Ryo's shoulder.  He didn't mind though.  Ryo still had enough in him to do one good deed.  Even if K' was a weird one, he still helped out Terry in the beginning of the fight.  That's what counted in Ryo's book.

Ryo looked over to where Kula was laying.  Her body vanished.  There wasn't even a trace of her body ever being there.  It didn't bother Ryo though.  That meant that she escaped and was probably no where near them anymore.  Ryo headed in Terry's direction to see how he was doing.  He didn't have to go far.  Terry, bloody and all, was walking straight for him.

"Ter – Terry!"  Ryo shouted.  He was still kind of shocked he was able to get up as quick as he did.  Terry didn't respond.  He just kept on moving.  If anyone saw him like this, they wouldn't even know who he was.  His jacket was wrapped over his shoulder and what remained of his shirt was tied up in various places of his body but most importantly, he didn't have is legendary red and white hat.

"HEY!"  Called a voice from within the underground base.  Terry's head snapped up and Ryo responded in kind.  The voice was frightening at first but upon confirmation they were relieved.  Heidren was standing in the doorway around the corner from Zero's knocked out position.  "There's an exit over here!  It will take us to the surface!"  He declared.  That's all they needed to here to put their bodies in motion.

Ryo and K' were closest to the door so they proceeded in first.  The look of the room was a lot different that the one they were previously in.  It looked like a war room or more specifically a command center.  There were computers everywhere, television screens with their attached security camera at various locations.  Heidren stepped aside and pointed them to the elevator.  Ryo wondered how Heidren was able to maul through all of those men with guns pointed to his heads and then thought it was best not to ask.  Knowing his reputation and strength, it was only a matter of time before he would be free of that predicament.

Terry was approaching next.  How good it would feel that it was actually over but, he felt somewhat empty inside.  It wasn't actually him that delivered the final blow to Zero.  He was sidelined and rather quickly he pointed out to himself for another to step up and take his place.  There was nothing he could do about it now, all that there was left was to escape to the surface and regroup with everyone again.

*CRASH*

_Huh?!_  Terry said as a mass of dust cluttered his vision.

"TER – !!!"  Was all that could be heard after the collision.  Terry could feel that he was trapped but he wanted to know what caused this.  Could it have been Seth and Vanessa?  They were still in the base.  No.  Terry could feel it in his bones.  The sleeping giant was awake and as fierce as ever.

Zero's hand was buried in the nearby wall.  He used the force of his punch to knock loose the fragile part of the structure and the impact trapped the last fighter.  Zero was enraged with a new fury.  Terry had caused him to feel pain.  Not just any pain.  Pain to unimaginable amounts.  Zero didn't like being toyed with the way he was.  He wanted vengeance and battered or not, Terry was going to have to put up one last fight.

"Y – YOU!!!"  Zero hissed while pointing at Terry.  His tone heavily expressed his anger.  "YOU… ARE… DEAD!!!"  Zero shouted while dashing in at Terry.  He threw a heavy haymaker right at the bandaged Bogard but his fist struck the pile of debris he created.  Terry, on the other had, was standing clear on the other side of the fighting square just as they once were.  A smile donned on his face and it made Zero that much more frustrated.

"You never seem to give up do you?"  Terry joked.  He threw on his fighting stance and motioned for Zero to come at him.  "HEY!  COM'ON COM'ON!!"  He taunted.  Even this late into the fight, in his beat up condition, Terry always remains the same.  His adrenaline was rushing back into his blood harder than it ever did in his life.  Hidden in his mind, for some reason, he could actually feel that he wanted this to happen.  Zero was a formidable opponent being able to stand up to Ryo's ongoing blitz of attacks.  Terry wanted to be the one to put him down for the count once and for all.  If not for the people of South Town, but just for himself.  To prove that he was going to be the strongest fighter in the world and wasn't going to let anyone else stand in his way.

Zero rushed in.  There was no denying it now, he wanted a fight just as bad as Terry did.  He threw another punch in the exact same fashion he had previously executed.  Terry swayed away from the first strike but immediately took one right in the gut.  Zero's assault wasn't just limited to a single strike but a succession of two.  Terry cringed after the first blow, which was a strong one no doubt about it but he quickly followed with one of his own. 

Zero took a shot right in the jaw from Terry's fist.  He spit out a wad of saliva into the air as he leaned away from Terry.  Zero thrusted his foot backwards and it caught Terry in his right shoulder.  The force was enough to knock Terry off balance but he remained on his feet and suddenly the true point of their strategies was revealed.

Terry and Zero went at it, stronger than they ever had before.  A new energy filled their bodies after they threw their own volley of punches and kicks.  Blocking was thrown straight out of the window.  They didn't want to waste their energy defending or countering.  They wanted to beat each other down so badly that the opponent couldn't block if they wanted to.

Blow after blow, Terry and Zero were reeling.  They had been going at it for a good minute or so and each of them landed at least twenty hits on the other yet neither one had went down.  Zero couldn't believe he had found a man who was so stubborn.  This guy would risk his own life over a fight.  It didn't matter to Terry.  He would just keep on fighting until he couldn't move or couldn't breathe, whichever one came first.

Terry took a step back after receiving one of Zero's rib punches.  He was reaching his last wind.  Zero was also feeling the same.  Their breathing echoed within the entire base although no one but them could hear it.  Terry prepared himself for one all out attack.  Something that would at least knock Zero down because if he was on the ground, he would spend any remaining energy on trying to get back on his feet.  Terry reached down deep and found a mass of energy just sitting at the surface.  He reached out into the air to absorb any other energy he could find and went ahead.

"BURN KNUCKLEEEE!!!!"

Zero heard Terry approaching with his famous dashing fist attack.  There was no way Zero could move out of the way in time so he set up an attack of his own and dashed right in.  If Terry was giving his all in this attack, he would surely be finished after one more blow.

*SMACK*

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!"  Zero cried.

"KAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!!"  Terry spat.

Their fists collided right where they were supposed to and in turn, both fighters ended up on the ground.  Terry was in great pain and dead exhausted, a terrible combination.  Zero, as well, was reeling on the ground from Terry's ki filled fist.  He had never felt a single punch put him down the way it did.  Zero almost felt as if he dropped a few I.Q. points after that.

Terry, after all of the battling, after all of the punishment distributed, picked himself up.  It almost took a full minute before he was able to reach his feet but the point was he was up and Zero was not.  He had reached his peak performance level and jumped right over it.  Terry was feeling very good about himself.

*SNAP*

_WHAT?!_  Terry thought.  He couldn't believe his eyes.  Zero's body jumped right up from the brink of defeat in a matter of seconds where as it took Terry a full minute.  He moved as if he wasn't hurt at all.  Zero had a lot of surprises hidden within his system and Terry was afraid that this last one was going to be the one that puts him out of the fighting business.

Zero almost wanted to laugh at Terry.  He had put up a good fight until that last punch.  Zero knew Terry exhausted all of his energy on that one final blow so instead of trying to counter it with an equal or greater punch, he threw his fist up and held it tight as Terry dashed it.  Upon impact, it gave Terry the illusion that he was punched by Zero and he was blinded by his own pain and fatigue to even see Zero's ruse.

Zero cracked a smile.  "Is that all you've got Bogard?"  He calmly asked.  There was no need to rush anything now.  Terry had nothing left.

Terry was in disbelief.  This man, this monster he fought kept coming after him no matter how hard Terry fought, it wasn't enough to put Zero down and keep him there.  Terry saw Zero approaching him.  He had to dig down deep to find that little something extra that would pull him out of this dilemma.

Zero moved slowly.  He wanted to intimidate Terry.  There was no point in wasting energy on a quick rush off attacks.  He could take his time and build up some more stamina as Terry figured out what to do in the few short moments he had left.  Maybe he would indulge in a prayer, something the humans would do in a situation like this.  Zero would be the god soon and it was too late to plead for mercy.

Terry looked at his right hand.  It was bloody, beat up, and tattered but the black glove still stayed in tact.  All of the battles, all of the wars, all of the pain Terry felt were because of these hands.  These hands that had helped Terry become the man he was today and they weren't going to fail him now.  He knew what he had left and there was plenty to take out a hundred Zeros if need be.  Terry cocked his fist back, almost like a baseball pitcher would.  He felt the energy grow in his fist as he pumped all of his heart in soul into the very thing that would save his life.

"IWOKENNNNN!!!"  Terry shouted.  He sped forward in true Burn Knuckle fashion hoping to catch the cocky Zero off guard.

*SMACK*

Terry's worst nightmare came true.  Zero had caught Terry's immense punch with just one hand.  Worst of all, he smiled while doing it.

"Is this it?"  Zero asked as Terry's fist defiantly shook his arm.  The punch itself was nothing but slowly he could feel the burn from within.  Zero raised an eyebrow as the inevitable came true.

*CRASH*

"DAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"  Zero cried while pulling his hand back.  He immediately took his free hand and grabbed his other wrist as he tried to cut of the nerves from sending any more messages of pain.  After the bright smoke cleared, he saw something he would never see.  His claw glove, made completely out of human bones and leather was nothing more that a smoking memory.

"C – C – Can't be?!?!?!?!"  Zero tried to convince himself.  If only he had studied Terry a few weeks before the King of Fighters tournament or else he would have seen the second have coming.

"BUSTER WOLFFFFFF!!!!"

*SMASH*

"YAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!"  Zero yelled while being shot into an opposing wall.  His body smacked the hard rock with a violent thud and he instantly fell to his knees.  Zero's reserves were depleted and so was his grip on consciousness.

Terry let out a slew of deep breaths.  He never thought the technique he had created only a few months ago would save his life like that.  Zero, no matter how strong he really was, could never defeat Terry's will.  Terry's will to live, Terry's will to fight, Terry's will to win.  They were the strongest bond between his mind, body and soul.

Terry closed his eyes and gained control of his breathing.  There is nothing more he wanted now than to go home.  Home.  Where ever that really was.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"What?!"  Terry replied.

The voice was Zero's, no doubt about it.  Even on his knees, Zero was a competitor.  He didn't have the strength to stand, but that didn't matter.  He had to strength to fight and that's all he needed to win.

Zero pulled deep into his one ace up his sleeve.  He didn't want to use this technique when there were multiple opponents in the fighting square but there was no question of it now.  He was going to do it whether it killed him in the process.  Even if he died Terry Bogard was not allowed to live.

Zero threw his fist high into the air.  A swarm of black energy filled his presence and began to consume the surrounding base.  Terry could feel the immense amount of power growing all around him.  Zero wasn't finished, he had only just begun.

Terry remembered this feeling.  It felt almost, nostalgic.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it yet though.  Finally, as Zero's fist slammed into the ground, it hit him.

_Krauser!_

Wolfgang Krauser was a formidable opponent in Terry's younger days.  This attack look strangely similar to Krauser's _Kaiser Wave_ technique that he tried to put Terry out of commission with but it failed all thanks to Terry's new ace in the hole.  It was time to pull the rabbit out of its hat.

Terry's eyes filled with a new found energy.  They began to glow a brilliant blue light as he felt all of the strength of the surrounding area flow through his body and into his fist.  Nothing, not even this monster's strongest attack was going to keep Terry from winning this match.

"POWER GEYSERRRRRR!!!!!"

*          *          *          *          *

"Com'on everyone!"  Yuri pleaded while carrying her father.  "Terry told us to get as far away as we could!"

There was no disagreement there.  Robert followed right behind his former love and Joe wasn't too far behind carrying his teammate Andy who was slumped on his shoulder.  Mary was the last one of the pack.  She was still in shock of the extremities Terry went to keep her away.

They had walked a great distance for their condition but it had taken them forever since most of them had to wait and recuperate outside of the warehouse.  Then there was that scuffle with that white haired individual who Yuri could have sworn was the grim reaper himself.   They kept on walking for at least five or six blocks before they stopped and considered it a good enough distance.  Everyone slummed to the ground and tried to regain the energy they had once had.

Yuri first went to her father's aid.  He was bleeding in several spots, nothing serious to him, but Yuri treated it as if it were life and death.  Who could really blame her though?  She'd just been to the road of death and back with her brother, heaven forbid if she had to go through that again.

"Is everyone alright?"  Joe asked while placing Andy on a nearby bench.  The fight was over for them, there's no harm in showing compassion for the opposing team and he might score a few points with Ryo's little sister.

"I'm good," Robert replied.  "Yuri is the same.  Master will be ok once he gets his cuts bandaged."

Takuma nodded.  "How is your friend?"

"Andy?"  Joe asked.  "He'll be ok.  Too many blows to the head for one day.  I'll let him sleep for now."

Takuma almost chuckled.  "I meant your other friend."

Joe looked over and saw the wondering Mary.  She had fallen behind and was only now catching up.  Mary looked fine from head to toe, Joe made sure to check that twice.  "She looks alright.  She didn't get into it as bad as some of us," Joe replied while pointing over in Takuma's direction.

Takuma shut his eyes for the longest times.  _Some people just don't get it_.

Mary clenched Terry's had between her breasts.  The color of his hat matched her top.  She wished she could hold Terry's head like this now and forever but he was down there and she was up here.  Who knows what kind of trouble he may be up to now?

"Mary…?"  Yuri asked while wrapping her father's arm in a white cloth.  "What's wrong?"

Mary didn't reply.  She just blew right past them and slumped on a bench all by herself.  It was probably the best choice at the time but Yuri and the others couldn't help but feel sorry for her.  Especially after what they heard in the elevator.

"Look!"  Robert shouted while pointing off into the distance.  He saw the faint sign of two individuals walking towards them.  One was holding the other over his shoulders.  Robert smiled as he instantly identified one of them to be his best friend Ryo Sakazaki.

"IT'S RYO!"  Yuri cheered.  She wanted to rush up there to him but was beckoned by the severe condition of her father to just sit and wait for him to approach everyone else.

Ryo was on the brink of collapsing.  It wasn't that K' was heavy, it was just that he was so exhausted from the fight he couldn't carry himself let alone K'.  Ryo wasn't a quitter though.  He kept on moving until he was in front of each and everyone of his friends and family members.  They all were relieved that he made it back alive and shouted their praise for making it back.

"What happened?!"  Yuri asked.  She was dying to know what went down after everyone left.  Especially since he brought the guy who plowed right through the Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury Team just to get into the underground base.

Ryo put K' down, isolating him from everyone else.  He didn't really feel like talking right now.  He wanted to get back there and see if Terry got out ok but he knew the way his sister was, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

All in all, Ryo was happy to be back together with his friends and family.  A smile crossed his lips as he watched both teams consolidate together even though they were going at it full force just moments ago.  He wanted to make sure everyone was ok before they moved out of their position until a sudden chill hit his spine.  Something was missing.  No.  _Someone!_

"KING!!!"  Ryo shouted.  "WHERE IS SHE?!?!?!"

Everyone felt the same feeling in the pit of their stomach when they knew they forgot something.  It didn't take Ryo another second to think about it and before anyone could say any words to deter him, he had already taken off back to the warehouse to search for King.

*          *          *          *          *

*CRASH*

"KRAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"  Zero cried.  He smashed right through the wall he used as leverage and into the worst place possible.  His body was spread out on a giant machine which flickered with electrical charges after Zero landed.

Terry stood up.  His fist broke right through the underground base foundation and plowed right into his opponent.  Terry had the feeling of relief enter his system.  It was over.  It had to be over.  He walked over to where Zero had landed to confirm it.

Zero was finished.  He was laid out on a weird looking machine.  Terry had no idea what to make of it.  All he knew about it now that it was probably broken.

"What…  What is that?"  He asked the empty air.

"That is a power generator," answered a voice in the distance.  Terry turned around to find the source of the voice and saw some familiar faces.  There were the two famous sword wielders of King of Fighters, Diane and Foxy.

"What?"  Terry responded.

"Zero used that machine and the transmitter built in his suit to transfer all of your fighting power into the Zero Cannon," Diane stated.

"You mean – "

"Yes.  By fighting him, you were in turn helping him with his plans.  That is why we sent our agents out to stop you from entering the tournament.  They were either to convince you or kill you.  Whichever one came last."

It all made sense now.  The first suit when he arrived in South Town.  Then there was the fight in the alley.  It was all N.E.S.T.S. trying to keep him out of the tournament.

Terry didn't move.  He just stood there absorbing all of their information.  Then, another thought crossed his mind.  Now that the tournament is over and Zero is finished what were they going to do with him now?

Diane and Foxy turned around and began to walk away.  Terry's eyebrows shot straight up into the sky and he called out to them as they walked away.  "Hey wait!"

Diane turned around as Foxy kept moving forward.  There was one more question Terry had and Diane knew exactly how to answer it.

"Terry Bogard.  For stopping Zero and his plans we are indeed indebted to you.  Consider this gesture an act of mercy."

Terry had no idea what to make of that.  He was being spared when he could have easily been killed by these two N.E.S.T.S. soldiers.

"But," Diane interrupted, "If you happen to get in our way again, there is nothing we won't do to stop you Terry Bogard."

And with that, they were gone.  If Terry had it, he would have tipped his hat to those two.  No matter how weird they were, they definitely get a thumbs up for last words.  Terry walked around the underground base searching for another way out.  It was final over.  There was no more fighting that needed to be done today.

"FOOOOOOOLLLLLLSSSSSS!!!!!!!!"

"WHAT?!"  Terry shouted.  He turned to the source of the sound eruption.  Terry couldn't believe his eyes.  Zero was moving.  He was actually moving his body.  He might not have been walking but his upper half was still somewhat functional.  Terry knew there was no way he could fight against him now.  What concerned Terry was that red trigger in his hand.

"Y – YOU…  YOU THINK…  YOU THINK YOU'VE… YOU'VE BEATEN ME?!?!?!?!"  He shouted.  "I'VE…  I'VE STILL GOT ENOUGH…. POWER TO SNED YOU…  SEND YOU UP IN FLAMES…  TERRY BOGARDDDD!!!!"

Zero pushed the button.  The underground base shook in defiance.  Something was going down and it didn't have to hit Terry twice to tell him to get the hell out of there.  One last passing glance at Zero and he saw his prone, unmoving body, laying out on the floor.  The great N.E.S.T.S. traitor was dead.

Terry maneuvered through a pack of falling debris.  This was the greatest place to be when an earthshaking catastrophe was going down.  Terry dove around two falling rocks and rolled right into an exit.  This was most likely the one that Diane and Foxy used to escape.  Terry opened the door.  He looked back at the condition of the fighting square and it wasn't a sight anyone in this lifetime wanted to see.  Terry walked straight through the door and proceeded forward.  Serene thoughts began to fill his mind.  There was nothing to worry about now.  He didn't even see it coming.  One last rock came crashing to the ground and Terry was standing right under it.  His last thought before it hit was that of the one person he wanted to see.

*          *          *          *          *

Ryo frantically searched around the warehouse.  King had to be here somewhere.  He knew she wasn't moving like she was this morning so there was no way she was going to make it out of here on her own.  It wasn't supposed to be hard finding a lavender suit in a grey surrounding.  Ryo ran around to the other side of the building.  Finally, he found what he was looking for.

"KINGGGGGG!!!"  Ryo shouted while running towards her.  She was stuck in a pile of cement chunks and debris.  Soon enough Ryo was kneeling over her as he wrapped his arms around her body.

"A – Are you alright?!" Ryo hysterically asked.  He looked deep into her blue eyes and saw the tears beginning to form.  She squeezed him back as hard as her body would allow.  There was no one else in the world that she would rather be with at this moment.

Ryo looked at her situation after breaking off the hug.  Her leg was trapped under a large chunk of cement.  He tried as hard as he could to lift the chunk but it wouldn't budge.  King was trapped.

King let out a teary sigh.  There was nothing Ryo could do for her now.  She gently placed her arm on Ryo's shoulder and shook her head.  King wanted him to stop hurting himself for her.  There was nothing he could do and she accepted it.  Ryo stood up and pulled back.  He wanted to help, he tried to help, but nothing happened.  Was Ryo really that useless when people needed him the most?

*RUMBLE**RUMBLE*

_What the?!_  Ryo screamed to himself.  South Town, the _entire_ town was beginning to quake.  Something wasn't right.  Ryo shot his glare up to the sky and saw a flash of light.  It was a light blue color and it headed straight for their location.  It almost resembled that of a laser.

Ryo tried and tried again to pull King out of her entrapment but it didn't work no matter how hard the adrenaline pumped into his body.  Nothing was working.  Ryo looked up as the beam of light was shooting straight down right at his body.

Ryo tightened his fists.  He wasn't going to give up.  He could feel the energy swarming around his body as it did before in the underground base.  Ryo turned his palms together at the side of his body and charged.  He charged his energy to its maximum extent and pushed even harder than that.  Nothing was going to stop him now.  He wasn't going to let a weapon in the sky from crushing the very things he loved most in life.  Especially the first women he loved in his life.

A single drop of water splash in his pool of thought.

That was it.  _King!_  King was the center of his focus.  All he needed to focus on was her and he would have it.  Ryo finally reached the ultimate point of his intensity and was ready to fire it off on the one thing that was trying to separate him from his loved one.

"HAOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!"  Ryo cried.  A blast of energy shot into his hands and his arms could barely contain the booming amount of ki.  The blast from the sky was reaching their location.  It was only feet away before Ryo shot his arms forward and released the energy contained within them.

"SHOUKOUKENNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!"

*CRASH*

Ryo's blast traveled straight upwards and pushed away the foreign destruction beam.  He blocked the beam.  He actually did it and it was pushed straight back into the atmosphere it broke into.  It was a sight that would be talked about for decades in the history of South Town.  Ryo had finally mastered the Haou Shoukouken.  Better than his father, better than anyone he had ever seen before.  Ryo transcended from the student to the master in that one single shining moment.

Ryo felt the remaining drips of ki float straight off of his body.  He wasn't done yet.  He slammed his fist straight into the block of cement hindering King from moving and instantly rendered it to dust.  He leaned over and pulled King up from the fallen mess and gave her a giant hug.  She responded in kind and soon they were staring in each other's eyes.

"King…"  He sighed.  She never looked more beautiful in her entire life.

"R – Ryo…"  She winced.  He never looked more handsome in his entire life.

Ryo placed his hand around the back of her head.  "King…  I – I…  I'm glad you're ok.  And…  And I never want anything like this to happen.  Because…  Because…  Because I love you King."

King's eyes were widened.  Those were the words she longed to hear in her lifetime from the one man she wanted to hear them from.

"And I always want to be there for you…  Now, and forever."

"Ryo…"  King sobbed.  "I…  I…  I love you too!"

Ryo leaned in and kissed her.  There was no cheek action this time.  It was straight on the lips and it was the most incredible feeling either of them had ever felt in their entire lives.  They stood their, holding each other, and enjoyed the moment.  If God intended on having a more perfect moment, this was it.  No doubt about it.

"YO RAY – OH!"  Called a voice from the distance.  Ryo and King broke off their kiss but not without putting up somewhat of a fight. He turned around and saw the last person he wanted to see in situation like this.  There he was, Joe Higashi with Andy limping right next to him but behind the Fatal Fighters were the exact ones he wanted to see.  Yuri, Robert, and his father Takuma were all there.

Yuri was the first to run over and greet the two.  She had a big smile on her face and she didn't have to put it in words to express her emotions.  Yuri hugged both Ryo and King and gave them a good squeeze letting them both know how happy she was.

Ryo looked over at his father.  Takuma gave him a single nod and a smile.  Ryo assumed he probably heard and saw what his son just did and that was Takuma's way of saying how proud he was of his son.  He beat the monster and saved the girl in true storybook fashion.  This is what life was meant to be.

*RUMBLE**RUMBLE*

_HUH?!_  Everyone collectively pondered.  The tall standing warehouse began to shake and soon it fell straight down.  Rocks and cement debris flew in all kinds of directions but nothing too dangerous from the position everyone was standing in.  Soon, the building where the greatest final battle in the history of King of Fighters was reduced to rubble.

As the dust cleared, everyone looked forward.  There was a shadow there.  Someone else had been near the wreckage.  Everyone looked on with a great hope in their hearts, especially Ryo, that the last fighter had returned home.

There was no such luck, however.  Mary stood, clear on the other side of the ruins with Terry's cap still in hand.  Tears were flowing from her eyes and hitting the ground every other second.  The man she loved still hadn't shown himself and was most likely buried under the rubble.  Mary walked, she walked over the wreckage until she was on the center of the once standing building.

Mary fell to her knees.  The tears came out full force.  She clutched Terry's hat against her chest and cried.  She cried with every breath in her body.  Mary kept chanting his name over and over again.  She tried to believe in him, she wanted to see him again but there was no denying the fact.  Terry Bogard was gone.

"Ter…  Ter…"  She chanted while rocking back and forth.  Everyone looked at her with saddened eyes.  It may have been a victory for South Town but one of their beloved heroes was an unfortunate casualty.  Mary filled Terry's hat with her tears and cried his name in sorrow.

"TERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Author notes:  Man o man what a finish!!!!  Boy am I mentally wasted.  This chapter wasted a lot of my talent but I think it was worth it.  This was a great fic guys and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.  BUT!  Don't go away just yet.  There's one more piece of the story left.  I posted it at the exact same time as Chapter 12 so don't waste any more time reading my rant if there are still questions left unanswered.  The Epilogue is up and is the final touch to my fic.  I would just like to point out a few story notes on this chapter.  For one thing, I thought this chapter would be really short but it ended up being one of the longest.  I wanted to end the fic quick so that everyone could read it as soon as possible but I guess the ideas kept flowing and now look where I'm at.  Third suspenseful ending chapter in a row.  How sad…  Oh well, continue on my loyal readers and don't forget to check out my final Author notes at the end of the epilogue.)


	14. Epilogue: Making New Memories

The King of Fighters

The Lone Wolf Pack / King of Hearts

By MavGunloc

(aka: Luis M. Vila)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Epilogue:  Making New Memories**

  
_Six months after the end of the King of Fighters Tournament_

The sky was clear in South Town.  The weather was fair and the sun was shining bright on the calm citizens.  Finally, the King of Fighters was over and everything can return to normal.  Normal for South Town anyways.  The people were still unruly, especially after the fiasco at the end of the tournament.  There was no real winner declared.  The match between the Fatal Fury Team and the Art of Fighting Team had been declared a draw.  Even after the results, the fans still wanted to know what happened after the cameras went out.  If only they knew the horror that was below.

That didn't matter now.  Everything returned to normal after a few months passed.  South Town was still the violent uncontrollable place it always was but it seemed more relaxing after the tournament passed.  Most things were going smoothly for the citizens.  As for the fighters…  That was another story.

Andy Bogard stepped out of the taxi.  He was standing in front of the Shiranui School and took a very deep breath.  Andy had taken another trip on his own after the tournament ended.  Facing another moment with his brother gone was just too much for him to handle in front of his friends, especially Mai.  In fact, that is the reason Andy is standing in front of the Shiranui School in the first place.  He had received a letter from Mai saying that she wanted to meet with him and Andy immediately obliged.  He did in fact promise her that he would make it up to Mai after replacing Mai in the Fatal Fury Team.

Andy walked up towards the front door and sighed again.  He had an idea what Mai had in store for him and it made his spine shiver.  Andy opened the door.  He had a feeling Mai would be the only one here today because the way she probably figured it, she was planning to make a lot of noise.

Sitting before Andy was the lovely Mai Shiranui.  She was wearing a very elegant dress shining in a brilliant red color and her hair was glimmering over the dim light.  A smile crossed her delicate red lips as she saw the love of her life standing in the doorway.

"Hi…  Andy," She coyly said.  "Welcome back."

Andy didn't know what to do.  He had never seen Mai look so beautiful in his entire life.  Andy didn't have to push her away like he usually would.  In fact, he didn't want to.  Andy stood there waiting for Mai to speak.  She was in control as far as he was concerned.

"Did you miss me Andy?"  She bashfully asked.  It was a rhetorical question but nonetheless, she wanted to make this moment last as long as possible.

"I believe you have something for me Andy…  I've waited a long time for this," She said while blushing.  Andy knew what he had to do.  It was completely against all of his morals but he did promise this to her.  Maybe after this she would leave him alone for a while.

_Alright!_  Andy said to himself.  _Let's do it…_

Mai closed her eyes.  She knew she wouldn't be able to keep from crying.  She heard Andy rustling through his clothes and instantly felt a sign of bliss.  Mai couldn't contain herself, she opened her eyes in the hopes of Andy on his knees with a loop of gold in his hands.

Mai was never that lucky.  Standing before her was the love of her life, shirtless, and working on his pants.  A cherry red blush covered her face.  This was not what she expected.

"What are you doing?!"  She cried while jumping out of her seat.  This was not what she expected at all.

"But…  But I thought this is what you wanted?"  He replied feeling somewhat relieved.

"This…  THIS?!"  She pointed straight at Andy's crotch.  "What do you take me for?!"

"I – I – I…"  Andy was at a loss of words.  "But I thought?"

"What do you think this means?!"  Mai said while thrusting her index finger into a circle made by her other hand.  Andy pulled back a half of a step.  There was the impure act being practiced before him.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Andy's mind.  Mai had never been kinky enough to ask for something as great as sex before.  _Maybe she meant…  Oh my god._

"You got over a half a million dollars for winning the King of Fighters tournament and all you think I want is – !"

"Shhhhh…"  Andy said while placing his finger over Mai's sweet red lips.  He had misjudged her this entire time and he truly was sorry for it.  All she ever wanted was to be close to Andy, closer than anyone had ever been.  She ignored every other guy and only had eyes for him.

"I'm sorry Mai…"  He said while making a half smile.  Her gorgeous brown eyes stared back at him with a new passion.  Andy leaned in to her.  Mai could feel Andy's warm breath and allowed him to come.  Finally, she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

Mai melted in Andy's arms.  She never imagined kissing Andy would be this wonderful.  This was something she longed for and now she had it.  Andy broke off the kiss slowly and looked back into her sweet brown eyes.  They were shivering with passion and happiness.

"Let me make it up to you Mai," Andy stated while standing back up.  "Let's go on a trip."

A smile touched Mai's face.  She grabbed Andy and squeezed him tight.  Mai could stand like this forever and would if time allowed.

"So…  Where do you want to go?"  Andy asked.

Mai shook her head against Andy's chest.  "I don't care Andy…  As long as I'm with you.  I don't care at all."

*          *          *          *          *

Mary busted into the top floor of a high-rise building.  She was hired to search out a case of random gang beatings.  Most of them were put in critical condition.  The guy was identified to be a monster who was on a rampage.  He didn't listen to pleads of mercy nor did he care for keeping the buildings he attacked in tact.  This guy was wreaking havoc all over the country and now he was finally cornered in South Town.

*SMASH*

Mary kicked the door open and rushed in.  The horror before her was almost unimaginable.  Bodies, piles and piles of bodies were stacked all over the place.  They were all beaten and bruised beyond belief.  Mary searched the room and found no sign of the attacker.  He must be in the next room.

Before Mary thought to kick open the door, she waited.  If she could surprise the attacker without alarming him, it would give her the advantage.  Mary began to slowly turn the knob and quietly opened the door.  There was a conversation going on.

"I – I swear I didn't know anything about it!"  One man pleaded.  She could sense the fear in his tone.  "Please – PLEASE…  DON'T KILL ME!"

*SMACK*

Mary wasn't watching but she knew she heard a punch.  The attack must be the one in control.  Mary was about to rush in before the sound of another voice filled the room.

"TERRY!"

_Terry?!_  Mary thought.  It had been so long since she'd heard that name.  Just the thought of him made her clasp his famous red and white hat that she kept attached to her belt buckle.  She peeked her eye around the frame and saw a small child approaching a larger man.

The kid was young, not a day over ten and he was in an orange shirt and black shorts.  The thing that caught Mary's eye was the hair.  He was blonde, just like someone she knew.  Then it hit her.

_Could that be…  Rock?!  Rock Howard?!?!_  Mary shouted to herself.  She opened the door wide and stood there waiting to see the man she had missed for the longest time in her life.  She saw just that.

There he was, the man himself Terry Bogard.  The Legendary Wolf had returned home after months and months of waiting.  Mary couldn't believe her eyes.  They were starting to fill with tears.

"I'm glad you're alright Rock," Terry stated.  He put his arm around the young boy and began to walk to the door.  Poor old Terry didn't even realize Mary was watching the whole thing.

Terry froze.  Rock felt a weird vibe coming from his protector so he immediately hid behind Terry.  He peeked around Terry's waist to see what the girl was up to and if she was going to try to hurt Terry.

Terry walked forward.  He motioned for Rock to stay behind.  Terry approached Mary, her eyes were still glazed over his figure.  It had been months since they'd seen each other and they hadn't really left on _great_ terms.  Soon enough, Terry was standing right in front of her.  She still looked great.  That wavy blonde hair, those deep blue eyes, that wonderful body.  Terry was lucky to have someone like her in his life.

*SMACK*

"OOOFFFFFF!!"  Terry cried while taking a blow to the chest.  Mary's elbow found its way right into his sternum and he responded by bending forward just a bit.  Rock immediately took that as a sign of hostility and ran up to the scene.  After running about halfway, he slowed down to a complete stop after seeing something he thought couldn't happen between two fighters.

Mary wrapped herself around Terry and locked her lips on his.  She poured the six months of depression and sorrow through her body and into Terry's.  Mary rubbed her arms up and down his back and around his messy hair.  Something was missing and she knew what to do about that.

Terry couldn't believe what he was feeling.  He had missed her, there was no denying it from his end but he didn't realize how much until this moment.  She held him tight and he could feel a few tears swimming between their lips.

They broke off after another minute or so.  Terry looked at his companion with sorrow filled eyes.  She must have gone through hell and back waiting for him and he wasn't Mr. Compassionate about it.  Mary stood there inches away from Terry's body and waited for him to speak.

"It's…  Good to see you Mary."

_Good to see me?  Well it's a start…_  She thought.

"I've missed you."

_Missed me?!_  Mary flustered.  Terry Bogard having a heart was a shock to her.  She grabbed Terry and hugged him tight.  Mary promised herself never to let him go.

Rock walked up to the two lovers.  He had no idea what to make of it.  This is the first time he saw two people do what they did.  He moved himself next to Terry and the Lone Wolf took his free hand and placed it over Rock's shoulder.

Mary looked down at the kid and smiled.  Looking at his innocent face made her just want to melt over his little body.  She smiled at him and gave a friendly gesture.

"Hey there," Mary said cheerfully.

Rock wanted to pull back and hide behind Terry but he didn't get a weird feeling from her like he did all the other people in his life.  He gladly accepted her kind words and hugged her along with Terry.  Rock had never felt happier in his entire life.

Terry moved away first.  He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.  Mary and Rock followed, Mary took Rock's hand into hers as they followed their companion.  Terry stopped by the elevator and turned around.  Mary had no idea what he had up his sleeve so she naturally had to ask.

"So…  Where to now?"  Mary asked.  She squeezed Rock's hand to let him know that he was included in the discussion.

Terry smiled.  "We'll see…"  He said in his regular tone.  "Right now, all I'm concerned with is you two."

Mary's emotions lifted as did Rock's.  They moved closer to Terry and leaned up against his strong frame.  Mary took his hat into her hands and placed it back on his head.  She felt like falling in love all over again after seeing him with that hat on.  He smiled back at her as the elevator doors opened.

"I guess this is the start," Terry said while entering through the doors.

"The start?"  Mary pondered.  "The start of what?"

Terry grinned.  "Of our Lone Wolf Pack."  Mary smiled along with Terry as she held him close.  No matter where the road took them she didn't care.  As long as Terry was here, she was happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"ONCE AGAIN!"  Khushnood ordered.  Poor Jean had no idea what he was getting into when he asked to learn Kyokugen Karate.  And this was just the first day.

Jean resumed his fighting stance and went through a standard volley of kicks and punches in the Sakazaki dojo.  It was completely refurbished only a few weeks ago thanks to the funding of their King of Fighters winnings.  Takuma was in high spirits and so were all of his students.  Kyokugen Karate was the high point of South Town.

King watched her younger brother move around like he never had before.  He may have been exhausted now, but he was able to walk and that's what was important.  The money from the King of Fighters tournament paid for all of Jean's treatment and they were able to buy the apartment complex above their bar.  Her life made a huge turn around after the end of the tournament and it was all for the better.

"Yo King," called Ryo entering the dojo.

"Hey sweetie," King replied.  She gave him a peck on the cheek and they both observed the view before them.

"How's he doing?"  Ryo asked.

King sighed.  "It's his first day but he's moving like it's his first anniversary."  Ryo sensed the joy in her tone.  He offered to teach Jean Kyokugen after his treatments were over and King graciously accepted.  Jean always wanted to learn martial arts like his sister, now he had his chance to learn one of the best.

Ryo turned away from the scene and proceeded into the garage.  King thought it was kind of funny that he left so suddenly so naturally she followed.  He was standing in front of his motorcycle scratching his head.  King had no idea what he was up to.

"Hey King."

"Yea," she calmly replied.

"Want to go for a ride?"

*          *          *          *          *

The sun was setting.  The view over the mountains was magnificent.  King wondered why they stopped her all of the sudden.  The rush she got from the motor cycle ride was very intense.  They were deep within the forest until Ryo walked her over until they reached the end.  The sight was unimaginable.

"It's…  It's so pretty," King gasped while looking over the scenery.  She turned over to Ryo as he too was glaring over the mountains.  "Why did you bring me here Ryo?"

"This was the place where I trained.  This was the place where I found the one thing I needed to focus on the master the Kououken."

"Oh…"  She sighed almost sounding uninterested.  Ryo could feel that vibe coming on full force so he knew he had to finish his story.

"The thing I needed to focus on was…  Was you, King."

King turned to him with wide eyes.  Ryo in kind, turned to face her.  "You know…"  He said while gazing deep into her eyes.  They were so warm and he could feel that nervous tingle touch his body.  Ryo pushed through it and continued, "We've been going out together for six months and…  And…  And I still don't know your real name."

King smiled.  It was true.  She hadn't told anybody her real name since she lived back home.  It was different times back them before she met Ryo.  Men were monsters in her eyes but not this one.  He was special.

"Alicia.  Alicia Dunstan."

It was Ryo's turn to smile.  "Alicia.  That's a pretty name."

King was happy to hear that.  Now he wouldn't have to refer to her by that nickname anymore.  She would be Alicia in his eyes and only his eyes.

"Have you ever thought of…  Thought of getting it changed?"  Ryo asked.  He gave off a small blush.  It was now or never for him.

"What?"  King asked almost dumbfounded.  "Would you rather prefer King?"  She joked.

"How about…  Sakazaki?"

"What?!"  She flustered.  Before she knew it Ryo was on his knees with a small box in his possession.  He took King's hand into his own and looked deeply into her heart and soul.

"Alicia…  Will you marry me?"

Tears began to flow down her face.  King had never felt this way in her lifetime.  This was the most serene moment in existence and she wanted to treasure it forever.

"Y – Yes!"  She jumped.  They hugged each other close and King let out a few more tears on Ryo's chest.  They pulled back for a second and leaned in to kiss each other.  Nothing mattered to them now.  They had each other.  Their wants, their needs, their desires were tied closely together and that is just how they wanted it.  Love is the greatest thing in the world if it is on your side and for the first time, Ryo and King had it as an ally.

_See you next year at the King of Fighters Tournament._

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(Author notes:  WOW!!!!  I can't believe it's finally over.  What a run it's been huh?  I've had my fun, I hope you guys enjoyed it.  This was really something.  It all started out when I got all pissed off that FF.net didn't have very many AOF fan fics especially ones about King and Ryo so I decided to step up to the plate and give it my best shot.  I never would have thought it would have turned into this.  This is a real long fic and as of this date, July 25th, 2003 I am the longest KOF fan fic [as far as word count] on the site.  Although it's not always about quantity I believe the quality is still in there.  All of my devoted readers, SilentNinja20, Mallow64, and Gero-A helped make this fic what it was and I'm glad I had their help and support.  Thanks too to all of those silent readers who haven't posted reviews.  It's cool I know how it is but I hope just because the fic is over the reviews won't stop.  I want to thank you guys again for all of your support over these past two months, two months.  I wrote this thing in two months.  God I must have really been dedicated to it.

Story Notes:

- King's real name:  Ok, King's real name isn't Alicia Dunstan.  I made that one up.  I needed a name for her to make the scene more cute and that came to mind.  She kind of looks like an Alicia and the Dunstan came from some random website that displayed French names.  That's all I really had to go on and it fit so I'm cool.  I hope I don't confuse the hell out of everyone and if SNK does release King's real name, I'd re-edit this fic to put it in there.

- Jean, King's brother:  Alright.  I made a mistake on this one.  I thought Jean was like a teenager but it turns out that he's actually like a 6th grader!  I know, big mistake on my part but I think it'll be ok.  I like Jean that way.  I wrote him like a 15 year old and I think it made him a much better character in this fic.  I know as far as continuity goes I should make him young again but hey, he was a 6th grader back in AOF 2 so he must be older now.  Right?  Oh well.

Well guys its time for us to part.  I know it's been fun but all things whether good or bad, must come to an end.  Now I know what some of you are thinking.  SEQUEL SEQUEL!!!  But I'm not sure.  Well, if I get a lot of people, and I mean a lot of people asking for one, I'll do it.  I've got a couple of other projects on my mind such as a closure to the Trigun anime series and a continuation of Outlaw Star plus a possible Ryo X Chun Li fic for Street Fighter 3.  We'll see what happens.  I've got the idea for a sequel but it's not on my priority list as of yet.  I know the N.E.S.T.S. saga must continue but it all depends on you guys.  Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my fic.  I worked my heart out on it and I hope to see you guys again in some of my other fics.  Take it easy guys and I'll see you next time around.)


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